On Marriage And Love

The sacred journey of marriage begins again today
as two people who love deeply come together to say “I do”.
This wedding celebration marks the beginning of a journey of two unique individuals
who wish to experience life together through shared joy, sorrow, new life, death and
who will experience times apart and delight in sharing these with one another.

We see today two people who have discovered a deep fondness for one another,
a caring and concern that goes beyond friendship
to a devotion that each wants to spend a lifetime deepening.

When two people embark on the marital journey,
they desire for one another only the very best that life has to offer.
They willingly commit to support and to celebrate one another
through life’s successes and
through sickness, challenge and despair.

When two people express the deep commitment
to live together in the sacrament of marriage,
they ask Spirit to be the light in their darkness,
the spark of hope in their despair, the candle at their celebrations.
They acknowledge that the source of their strength
is the eternal Love of God that indwells all.

How can we know that the love we share
is sufficient for the journey?

When we see in each other the Divine Spark and
want more than anything to watch it grow,
then we have found a partner to spend our lives with.

When your happiness, fulfillment, and creativity matters to me
because it makes you happy,
then I love deeply.

When your challenges draw me closer,
that you may find in me the strength that you aren’t yet aware of in yourself,
then we love deeply.

When, despite all attempts to agree, we find ourselves with differing beliefs
yet we respect each other’s position and continue to live in harmony,
that is love.

When life has thrown us a curve, and
everything we have and do and believe in is pulled out from underneath us, and
we can hold one another, grateful for the life that we share,
then we know love sufficient for the journey.

by Jeanne Loehnis, 2003

What is YOUR wisdom?