::the.vows::

My Mary.

I remember when I first knew I loved you. You were in Nicaragua. I was in Philadelphia. You wrote to me and spoke from your heart about your experiences and the people you met. My love for you grew out of seeing and witnessing your love for others. I remember that as we grew closer we began to feel vulnerable and exposed because of the affection we had for each other. I remember being too nervous to say the words, "I love you", out loud, so I wrote them on dyed Easter eggs and gave them to you. I remember walking through times of doubt as you sought God's direction for a job. I remember you telling mee that it was a miracle you were being vulnerable with me.

I recall these things because of themes they represent...themes which I look forward to in our marriage: a heart for others, seeking Jesus, vulnerability with each other, working together through difficulty, and continually learning about each other. I promise to always seek after these things in our marriage.

I promise to remain by your side in the pressure of the present and to never leave you. I promise to remain faithful to you in the face of an uncertain future. I promise I will strive to be more like Christ each day. I promise to always consider you before myself and to exhibit sacrifice in my love for you.

I look forward to all the messiness of love with you in a world that spends more of its day searching for the next best thing. So lastly, I promise that my searching is over. There will be problems to work through, but my heart's desire is depth with you, not the shallow facade of perfection.

I love you, my Mary. I love you with all of my heart. I am not going anywhere because I am yours.


Dear Mark,

I love you because you have PIZZAZZ and you make me laugh until my face hurts.

I respect you because you lay down your pride for our relationship, even when I don't do the same.

I admire you because you never stop chasing after the heart of God and what it REALLY means to be a man.

I trust you because you consistently ARE who you say you are.

I want to marry you today because of all these things.

My Mark, I want to know you and be with you FOREVER. I want our marriage to be a safe place for us to experience God's refinement - because we each know that the other person will always show acceptance, grace, and forgiveness.

So I promise to never, EVER give up - to never walk away from you, whether physically or emotionally - no matter what.

I promise to remain faithful as your partner. I promise to always work toward being more FORGIVING, more GRACIOUS, more PATIENT, more RESPECTFUL, more LOVING and more KIND to you.

Above all, I promise to encourage you in your own walk with our God, pushing you toward Him and smoothing the path that He has planned for your life.

And I know that no matter what arrows might come flying at us, we will be OK because we will be ONE.

And if our God is FOR us, then who can be AGAINST us?

So I give myself to you today because I trust you completely, for the rest of my life.