World Marriage Day

          

           Back in November, Tim and I renewed our wedding vows.  It was something I had always wanted to do but we had never had the opportunity before then.  Thankfully, when we asked our pastor he was able to officiate for us in a really beautiful ceremony.  It was just Tim and I in front of our family and the morning was very special.   

I, take you for my lawful *spouse* to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

After 15 years of wedded bliss the marriage vows took on even more meaning-  for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.  Over the years, we have seen days that have been better and days that have been worse.  We have had times of richer (sort of) and times of poorer.  We have experienced sickness (thankfully only minor illnesses- stomach flus, colds, etc….) and we have experienced health.  As we said the words of the vows to each other the second time around, we really knew how deep and meaningful they were.

            Life has been busy since then- crazy days that are filled to capacity and weeks that leave no time for relaxing.  Tim works his two jobs, often going from one to the other and not coming home until the sun has set and it is practically bedtime.  Our weekends are taken up with activities for the kids and we are often found running them in opposite directions.  Tim and I work well together.  We balance our responsibilities and juggle our commitments and make it all work so everyone gets what they need.  The only thing that sometimes gets neglected is our time together.  At the end of the day, at the end of the week- everything has been taken care of or attended to, except sometimes our marriage.  We both understand that this is where we are in life, and that this chapter will not last forever.  We both try to make time for each other and make the best of the brief moments we do have together but sometimes it is hard, and many days I pray that God will bless our efforts and bless our crazy life, and above all- bless our marriage in the midst of it all.

            This morning at Mass we celebrated World Marriage Day.  In the past, on this special Sunday, we have been given a blessing.  Our church has had all the married couples stand and the priest has prayed over us all and blessed us all.  Today, for the first time in our life together, the priest announced that for World Marriage Day all married couples would be invited to stand and renew their vows.  He had us take each other’s hands and repeat the vows after him all together.  It was certainly a different experience than the first time we said those sacred words to each other, and even very different than the second time when we had our own ceremony just for us.  

 This time, Tim and I had to squeeze past our five kids that sat between us and as we stood looking into each other’s eyes and reciting the vows our 2 year old came up and handed me her empty cracker package.  But, it was still just as special, because it was so timely and so unexpected and the perfect reminder of what we are doing in our life together and why God has brought us together.