Wedding Vows

Well, MLCsGarden would be more appropriately named "MLBsGarden" from this point forward. I married my best friend and dance partner, Don Burke, in a beautiful but simple ceremony last weekend. When I have time I'll upload pictures and details from the wedding and from our honeymoon on rustic Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. But for now I'll post our vows, which Don and I wrote ourselves.

Here are mine:

 We honor God as we pledge

our hearts and lives together.

May our marriage grow 

warm and bright in our hearts, 

like a fire in a well-tended woodstove.

As gently as a breeze rustles

the leaves of a mighty oak,

so I will tend our relationship

as husband and wife together.

A careful gardener, I will prune away

the rotten wood of hurtful actions

and words, so that the seeds of our love

will fall on fertile soil.

The mountain stream flows cool and clean through the hills.

It nourishes the earth and sustains the lives of all 

within its reach. Just so I vow to nurture

our relationship, for in this way 

you will never thirst for love.

I pledge to remain your steadfast companion, and

I commit myself, heart and soul,

to you.

I vow to dance with you in love and laughter,

through good times and bad,

today,

and for the rest of our lives.

Don's were more succinct but equally heartfelt:

Mary,

I have lived my life searching for someone like you and we found each other through an unusual chain of events.

Now that I have you in my life, I never want to lose you.

This day, in the presence of God, friends, and family, I pledge to you my heart, my soul, and my life forever.

I want to walk hand in hand for the rest of our lives.