the vows I never read

I was looking through my wedding journal and I found the vows I never read, but that were certainly in my heart on August 9, 2013. My husband left for a weekend trip this morning and his absence only reminds me of all the love I have for him. Hope these vows encourage you and your marriage!

"As I put on this dress today. I was in awe. Not because I thought I looked so beautiful, but because I got to see a little bit of how God sees me. Pure white, clean as snow, without blemish, or wrinkle: Free from Sin because of Jesus' sacrifice. God sees me this way despite my many faults and failures. He has given me the perfect example of what love is by seeing me this way.  His love is an undeserved, grace-filled, everlasting love. God's model of love is how I want to love you, Brandon, for the rest of my life. Because I am sinful, I know that I won't do it perfectly, but I promise that this will be the type of love that I will seek and try to emulate forever. I promise that my commitment to you and God, today, will never be broken in hard or easy times. Brandon, I promise to first and foremost be faithful to God and His Will for my life and therefore be by your side for the rest of my life. 

I do believe that God has brought us together because we are better that way and I am honored to stand by your side as you pursue God's will for your life. Because I want to fervently love you for my whole life, I ask God today to help me sustain a Christ-like love for you everyday-- being patient, kind, merciful, not keeping record of wrongs, speaking truth to you, being humble, compassionate, and not easily angered. Promising these things is intimidating, but I do not have fear. I do not fear because I know the Lord is with us and therefore who could possibly be against us. Brandon, I promise to be fulfilled by the Lord and not by you. I promise to love you as the church is to love Christ for all the days of my life in a covenant with the Jesus, Our Lord and Savior. "