This past week as I was performing a wedding there was a random thought that fluttered and flew through my mind. As the couple was exchanging vows, they arrived at those words:
"For better, for worse...
For richer, for poorer...
In sickness and in health...
In joy and in sorrow."
And I realized that perhaps those are not always either/or moments but rather can be both/and. There are moments you can be both in a state of joy and sorrow...times when we your body might be sick and your mind/soul well...times when you can feel richer beyond belief regardless of a bank account and times when you know that life is better because of the person beside you even facing the most difficult moment you have in your life.
I think it is easy to hear these as either ends of a pendulum. There is truth that sometimes life does swing from one extreme to another. There is also truth that we tend to spend a majority of our time in the messy middle between those two ends. Most days are not the best day EVER...or the worst. Most days I am no longer a poor college student...nor can I retire quite yet. With extra candle on my birthday cake, my body starts to show signs of another year...but I am still grateful for my health.
I especially invite those who are celebrating a wedding anniversary this year to ponder the vows you said your partner. I often tell couples that vows are elastic...they can stretch and grow with each passing year. They can expand to include new experiences and encounters. But vows need to be tended. Think of your most amazing event (for us it is walking around Disney). Of course we enjoy that. But I also try to enjoy our walks around the neighborhood. We love celebrating the special days but also the ordinary Wednesdays that come about every week. In what ways are your vows allowing you to grow into who God crafted and created you to be?
I pray as you ponder this...you might sense more than a trace of God's grace in your life.
Grace and peace everyone ~~
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