keepingintouch

Friday, June 27, 2008

Renewed our marriage vows

Yes, we did......Ben and I on Thursday 26th June,2008
Where? In OMPH church together with many others.

We rushed to the church after dinner.
Before going as usual .....communication problem.
Ben knew we are going to the church.
He didn't know the time and didn't ask.
Me, I thought i told him the day before.
I assumed he knew.
I was fuming inside when he ate slowly.
More annoyed when he took so long to bathe.
I thought it was best that I kept quiet....
I thought if I made a fuss he might get angry
and decide not to go......
finally i said we are late....better hurry.
He was annoyed, " What time is it?
Why you never tell me the time?"
Didn't want to argue with him.....
In fact it was very sweet of him to go with me after work
when he is tired.

However no regrets but felt blessed we made it-
although we were late.
We reached there to find the church packed.
Special prayers and blessings for couples and families.
After renewing marriage vows
( we were told to looked into each other eyes as we renew our vows)
Next we were told to kiss and hug each other.
So touching.....one old man was in tears.....including me.
Father Simon Periera said mass......homily was full of jokes.
He emphasized the importance to put God in the centre of our lifes.
Reminded us Jesus is ALIVE and only with Jesus we can overcome problems.
4 points he told us to remember:
encounter with God
respond to God
transformation
mission

After that he told those married for more than 40 years
to share with us their secret for being able to stay married.
Many told the usual -faithful, patience, loving, tolerance, etc.
But a few funny ones.....
One straight away answered......" He is deaf."
Huh? I thought to myself what does that mean.
As though she read my thoughts she continued to say,
" He cannot hear me whenever I scold him."
The whole congregation laughed.
One couple married for 61 years...so blessed.

I was so happy Ben did whatever the priest instructed.
I think he too was glad we went ...
Praise the Lord.

"Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century." Mark Twain

Suffering can either drive people apart in a marriage, or it can bind them together. And just as God reveals tender, intimate things when we patiently hold fast to him through our personal suffering, a marriage is tenderized when a couple patiently holds fast to God—and to each other—through hardships. I say this to any husband and wife going through tough times: God always reveals himself to us when we come together, needing him desperately. And when we cling to God out of need, one of the most satisfying fruits of the Holy Spirit—the fruit of patience—can't help but take root in a marriage.

the psalmist, David, who wrote, "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together" (Psalm 34:3, italics added). It's amazing that when we're at our lowest, when we feel as though we can't go on, the Lord always shows up.

whisperings of nature