I Still Do...

Just a few nights ago...

There were 18 of us...9 little couples...with a tapestry of stories.
And we all held hands, and we all gazed deep...
And we did it again.

Hydrangea...they mean "perseverance."

We said:  "I still do...and I always will."
With God as my witness, I vow this forever.

And we cried again
Fifteen years, and four babies, and eight moves, and countless jobs, and millions of memories, and thousands of laughs, and hundreds of heartaches later....we cried again.

And we said:  "Always and forever.  No. Matter. What."
And the husbands led their wives in communion.

Because it's good to remember all that's been broken and all that's been redeemed.
It's good to look back...
To see the "us" that was fifteen years ago, and the "us" that is Today.
Older.  Wiser.  Stronger.  Deeper.  And so very deeply in love with each other....
It's good to celebrate...and it's important to Renew.

And it's good to recognize that it's all because of Jesus...

I think it would be awesome to renew every single Anniversary!
It's one more year where we've made it!
One more year where we have beaten the statistics...and where we have won - over all that's out there that seeks to divide and destroy.  We have loved and we have learned.  We have built into and we have built up. We have made mistakes and we have said a million "I'm sorry's."  And we have done it over and over again for fifteen years....

Beautiful, homemade cakes with edible flowers...

Fifteen years of sharing the same bed.
Fifteen years of Him choosing me...and only me...day after day after day.  And of me doing the same.
Fifteen years of taking care of each other when we are sick.
Of learning together - this thing called Parenthood.
Of teamwork, and of being each other's Number One Fan.
Because - man, even if there's no-one else in my corner standing with me - he always is.  No matter what.
And he gets that same loyalty from me....
Fifteen years of babies and of moving...of job changes and of Life.
And fifteen years of walking alongside, hand in hand, and loving deep and raw and real....
Through it All...

And you know what "they" say....
"They" say that a recipe for a great relationship is serious stability with a good dose of spontaneity.
I like this recipe.
And I surely have this recipe in Kevin Scott Booker.
This man - he keeps me on my toes.  But I am rooted deeply IN him.

I've said it a thousand times that I will follow him to the Ends of the Earth...and I pretty much have.
Me - I am a root digger.
Him - he is a nomad.

Me - I like predictability, and I really hate change.
Him - He likes things spicy, and he's a mover and a shaker.

Me - I am practical.
Him - He thinks WAY outside the box.

But us?
Somehow we work.
And I really really Really like us.....

And so once again ~
I surrender to the high call of being your covenant wife.
God has given you to me as a precious gift, and I receive you.
I will love you, serve you, and cherish you with my words and my actions.
I will treat you with respect as I would the Lord.
I will sensitively and diligently meet your needs and the needs of our family in a sacrificial manner, according to the model of Jesus Christ.
I commit to sexual purity and to keep myself unto you alone so long as we both shall life.
I surrender my selfish rights and assume my full responsibilities.
In spite of circumstances or emotions, as I stand against any person or force that would come to divide us, I will love you until death separates us.
I will not turn my heart away from you because of anger, difficult times, laziness, the distraction of other demands, desires, or anything else.
I will work on our marriage and seek to grow as a wife and a woman of God.
With God as my witness, I vow to be your covenant wife.

 (source unknown)

So long as they both shall live....