Dearest Todd,
I never cease to be amazed by the man of God you are, the kind and loving heart and the tender, thoughtful spirit. I can think of no better words to express my deep love for you, commitment to you and gratitude to God for the gift of you, than by revisiting the vows I spoke not quite two years ago...during that dark time when the migraine stole my memory! Ever grateful to God for you as we celebrate our twenty-second anniversary.
"Over twenty years ago, we vowed to remain husband and wife in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death. Today, I neither remember that day nor the speaking of those vows, but as I look back over our life together, I see your life consistently whispering the words lovingly to me. When I have been sick, you have remained steadfastly by my side. When God closed the womb, you held me close through our tears and sought out God. When God opened the closed, you held me through the joy and turned our praise to God. When jobs were lost and bills piled, you have been a constant companion, reminding me always of God’s unfailing love and provision, ever grateful to Him for His many gifts. When the times were plenty, you have held my hand and led our family in thanks and giving. When I have been poor in spirit, beaten down by the world and overwhelmed, you have pointed my eyes to Christ, reminding me of who I am in Him. When I have forgotten, you have been my memory. For this, your love, today and every day, I give thanks, humbly to my Father in Heaven.
Today, by God’s grace and according to His power, I reaffirm this covenant with you. I, leaning into His strength and trusting in His enabling, affirm to you that I am committed to be your helpmeet, to stand faithfully by your side as your wife, your friend, your encourager, through all of life’s circumstances, to demonstrate His grace and love to you, to honor and respect you through the aging and graying, the falling and the standing, the sorrows and the joys, the times of enough and the times of need, through health and through sickness, the forgetting and the remembering, through the making of mistakes and the getting it right. I speak these words today, praying that the Lord enables my life to whisper them to you every moment, as your life has whispered them to me. My life, made one with yours through the mystery and power of Christ, until that day when one of us parts to meet Christ in our heavenly home.
Today, I thank God for you, your love, for His strength and grace, carrying us through every circumstance over the years. I love you and am trusting the God who brought us together to continue to pour His abundant grace out on us, enabling me to keep this covenant with you, to serve faithfully by your side and to be your helpmeet."
Lovingly,
Shelly
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