Marriage
I had the honor of marrying two wonderful people today. I couldn't believe how calm the groom was. And it wasn't like he was playing it off, or, if he was, he was doing an incredible job at it. If I was stuck in a room with a bomb that was about to go off, I'd want someone with his temperment trying to disarm the damn thing. I thought I'd include the ceremony reading so here it is. I'll post a pic as soon as I get one.
A Penny
There are presently an estimated six and a half billion people on this earth. It's amazing when you think about it. There are nine zeros there, in case you're wondering. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of that number, if you were to fill a school bus with pennies, it would take five of them just to hold ONE billion. That amounts to about 33 busses in all.
In comparison, the odds of being struck by lightning over the course of your lifetime are only one in five thousand. In other words, your odds of getting hit by lightning might actually be better than finding your penny in those 33 busses. Still, Ross and Sonia have beaten the odds. Against this seemingly insurmountable challenge, they've found the penny with whom to share their thoughts, their dreams and their future.
Passion
It won't be easy. If their relationship, like any other relationship, were rooted in the wrong qualities it would be an even bigger challenge. Passion; for example, passion can be a fickle companion. One day it finds us unexpectedly and tears us from our warm and cozy sleep. It can be a powerful force, yet where once we felt contentment, we soon find ourselves restless and hungry for more. For passion, like many other things, fades. With its loss we sometimes find ourselves dazed and confused. Like our shiny penny, our passion tarnishes with time and loses its luster.
Love, Trust and Forgiveness
It is for this reason that marriage, was built around qualities such as Love, Trust and Forgiveness. These are the qualities, after all, that builds a solid long term relationship. I have no doubt that Ross and Sonia have passion in abundance, but it is not for passion alone that we find ourselves here today. This is not after all, a celebration of two people's simple attraction to one another.
Unity
It is a special thing that Ross and Sonia have asked us to participate in with them; a union of two distinct people. It is a gesture of their commitment to each other and to their future together.
It takes a village
In the months to come they will bring a new life into this world. Like their relationship, this new child will require nurturing. We have been asked to bear witness to their new life together. We all play an important role in the cultivation of their relationship. Love, like all other human emotions is not without its challenges. We are not alone on this world. We have each other. The covenant we are witnessing here today is a sacred one which we are all party to.
Quotations
My words fall short of the sentiment I wished to convey today. I searched high and low for words fitting enough to commemorate this special occasion and have enlisted the aid of men far wiser than me; men long since dead whose words have not lost any of their impact.
[ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12]
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him.
[TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom]
There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike. [Your biggest value should be] your belief in the importance of your marriage.
Vows
Who presents this couple to be married?
May I have the groom's ring.
[Sonia's vows]
I Sonia, take you Ross to be my husband, // my partner in life and my one true love. // I will cherish our union // and love you more each day than I did the day before. // I will trust you and respect you, // laugh with you and cry with you, // loving you faithfully through good times and bad, // regardless of the obstacles we may face together. // I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, // from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.
May I have the bride's ring.
[Ross' vows]
I Ross, take you Sonia to be my wife, // my partner in life and my one true love. // I will cherish our union // and love you more each day than I did the day before. // I will trust you and respect you, // laugh with you and cry with you, // loving you faithfully through good times and bad, // regardless of the obstacles we may face together. // I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, // from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.
I now pronounce you wife and husband. You may now kiss your groom.