Witness to Marriage
I am so thankful to God for the witness and testimony to the vocation of marriage that I have been given in my life, particularly through my grandparents and parents. Today is my paternal grandparents sixty-second wedding anniversary. My grandparents met in grade one, became friends, and continued through school together all the way to highschool graduation. A couple years thereafter they got married. They've essentially been together from childhood. Can you imagine knowing someone that well?
The love and devotion my grandparents have for each other has provided me with a deeper understanding of the reciprocity of self gift in marriage. I have seen my grandparents support each other through hardships and trials and I am sure that they have had many more that I will never know of. After all, I've only been alive for the last third of their marriage.
Last year I was visiting with my grandparents when we were discussing a couple we both knew that had recently announced that they were separating. My grandparents were noting how surprised and shocked they were when, with a twinkle in his eye, my grandpa turned to my grandma and said, "Well dear, I don't see us going our separate ways any time soon."
Over Christmas I was visiting with them and I commented to them that I was so grateful for the witness of their marriage. I asked my grandma if she had one piece of advice for me in relation to marriage what would it be. This is the kind of question you want to ask when you still have the opportunity to do so. She told me that on their wedding day she made a promise to herself and to my grandfather that as long as they lived they would never go to bed angry with one another. She said that while they've had fights and arguments, they have always been faithful to that promise, a promise which has guarded and protected their marriage from animosity and bitterness and strengthened their love for one another. Advice such as this, coming from those who know best, is truly precious and worth more than any marriage preparation course you could take.
As I said before, I am thankful to God for the witnesses he has placed in my life to demonstrate to me what marriage should be. Not only have I been blessed with my paternal grandparents who are celebrating their sixty-second wedding anniversary today, God has also graciously given me the testimony of my maternal grandparents who have been married well over fifty years and my own parents who have been married over thirty years.
And so, today, as I reflect upon these testimonies to the vocation of marriage I give thanks to God for the family He has given me. I pray that he would continue to strengthen these marriages which have been so influential in my own life. I also pray in a special way for the renewal of family life and the protection of the sanctity of marriage.
The love and devotion my grandparents have for each other has provided me with a deeper understanding of the reciprocity of self gift in marriage. I have seen my grandparents support each other through hardships and trials and I am sure that they have had many more that I will never know of. After all, I've only been alive for the last third of their marriage.
Last year I was visiting with my grandparents when we were discussing a couple we both knew that had recently announced that they were separating. My grandparents were noting how surprised and shocked they were when, with a twinkle in his eye, my grandpa turned to my grandma and said, "Well dear, I don't see us going our separate ways any time soon."
Over Christmas I was visiting with them and I commented to them that I was so grateful for the witness of their marriage. I asked my grandma if she had one piece of advice for me in relation to marriage what would it be. This is the kind of question you want to ask when you still have the opportunity to do so. She told me that on their wedding day she made a promise to herself and to my grandfather that as long as they lived they would never go to bed angry with one another. She said that while they've had fights and arguments, they have always been faithful to that promise, a promise which has guarded and protected their marriage from animosity and bitterness and strengthened their love for one another. Advice such as this, coming from those who know best, is truly precious and worth more than any marriage preparation course you could take.
As I said before, I am thankful to God for the witnesses he has placed in my life to demonstrate to me what marriage should be. Not only have I been blessed with my paternal grandparents who are celebrating their sixty-second wedding anniversary today, God has also graciously given me the testimony of my maternal grandparents who have been married well over fifty years and my own parents who have been married over thirty years.
And so, today, as I reflect upon these testimonies to the vocation of marriage I give thanks to God for the family He has given me. I pray that he would continue to strengthen these marriages which have been so influential in my own life. I also pray in a special way for the renewal of family life and the protection of the sanctity of marriage.
posted by DP | 12:30 AM
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