the vows we take
The promise helps keep this sacred and valued.
Our marriage vow to unendingly love and fight for each other helps keep our relationship treasured and resilient to struggles and hardships that arise.
The commitment, loyalty, and security adds depth and sweetness.
What are you committed to?
What promises have you made with your life that give you direction and pull you through when times get tough?
What have you vowed to uphold, to the best of your ability, no matter what?
These promises give a thing extraordinary worth and cause us to work harder to protect, cherish, and nurture what we value.
It doesn’t have to be a marriage or a person, though maybe it is. Or maybe it’s a work of passion and generosity you care greatly about, a life compass and value you continually orient to, or something else that matters deeply enough to you that you choose to stick with it, even when it sucks.
Because that’s the thing. Everything sucks sometimes.
I love my husband with everything in me, and he’s the luckiest gift and choice of my life. I will never regret marrying him, and I am beyond blown away and full of gratitude for our relationship, our story, and everything we have together.
And also… it’s still hard sometimes! We still have to keep learning how to fight right and take care of each other when we’re mad and apologize and reconcile and move forward together. Life is still stressful together, it’s just better together, and we know there’s nobody else we’d rather be with to deal with the stress, problems, trauma, history, and future. We know the grass is green where you water it, and we try to center our marriage on this rich and meaningful promise Jake put in his wedding vows to me: I promise to be by your side when things seem impossible and feel terrible, so that we may build a life more beautiful than we can possibly imagine.
A vow keeps you moving when you want to give up.
A vow is a reminder of all that you hold dear.
A vow is made up of the words you promise when you are at your best, as something to fall back on when you’re at your worst.
A vow is the highest goal we can strive for together.
A vow gives your treasured effort that much more seriousness and value, and it sets you up for success in continuing to strive for what matters to you instead of looking for a way out when it doesn’t feel good or easy.
These are the big things that truly have impact and meaning in our lives, the lasting things, above all else, and they can shift and change and grow and look different from season to season, but they are what we hold up and stay with.
Do not be afraid to commit wholeheartedly and put yourself on the hook.
Take the vows.
For whatever it is you need to promise yourself to.
