A decade of love

I know I'm a day early, but I knew I'd be to busy to do this on Wednesday.
If you had been at the First Christian Church of the little town down the road from us 10 years ago Wednesday night (and some of you were), this is what you'd have witnessed:

Bucka- FarmBoy & Farmie have invited us to share with them some of the joy they are experiencing. As they stand before us and in the presence of God, while they covenant with God, to make Him the foundation upon which their marriage, home, and family are built.
FarmBoy & Farmie believe that marriage, conceived & consummated in the eyes of God, is a holy covenant, not to be entered lightly,but with much forethought, prayer, and commitment.
It is a covenant that must not be made for the sake of convenience, nor can it be terminated because circumstances surrounding it probe to become inconvenient.
Marriage, approved of God, is a holy covenant expected to be honored until death separates.
With full understanding and total commitment, FarmBoy & Farmie come to make this covenant in our company and in the presence of Almighty God.
Who gives this woman to be married to this man?

Daddy- Her mother and I do.
FarmBoy, from this time on I release Farmie into your care. It is now your responsibility to care for her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Care for her as Jesus cares for his church, love her as the Father loves us. Always look to God for strength, wisdom, and guidance. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Farmie, for 21 years God has blessed our lives with you. You are a precious gift from the Father above. We have seen wonderful times, we have seen trying times, and through all of them God has been faithful to us. He has never left us nor forsaken us no matter how we strayed from His intended path for our lives. Never doubt that we love you.

**We gave a rose to each of our mothers as Did sang In a Simple Way I Love You.**

Bucka- FarmBoy & Farmie will now voice the covenant they make to each other before God.

FarmBoy- Farmie, my beloved, I offer myself to you today as your husband. I offer everything that I am, everything that I have, and everything I hope to be and I thank God that he has given us to each other. My prayer is that our hearts will be melded together this day with God's seal of approval and that I will be a good and faithful husband always providing you with emotional and spiritual nourishment, supporting you in every way. May we live together in such a way that it will be evident to all that we have a deep abiding love for each other and for our God and Heavenly Father. May God bless our marriage for all the days of our lives.

Me- FarmBoy, As marriage has been established by God, I willingly bind myself to you today in love, even as Christ is bound to His church. Just as nothing can separate us from the love of God, nothing can separate us as husband and wife. I pledge the same steadfast love to you. I promise, with the help of our Lord, to be your faithful wife, to love and obey you as Christ commands, regardless of the trials that may arise in life. My commitment is made in love, to be kept in faith, lived in hope, and daily made new.

Bucka- FarmBoy, for centuries rings have symbolized the sealing of covenants and commitments.
This ring is an unending circle; it symbolizes the continuity of the marriage bond. A marriage as long as you both shall live.
Do you, FarmBoy, give this ring to Farmie as a token of your love for her?

FarmBoy- I do.

Bucka- Will you, Farmie, take this ring from FarmBoy as a token of his love for you and wear it as an expression of your love for him?

Me- I will.

Bucka- Then as a ceaseless reminder of this hour and of the vows you have taken, FarmBoy, place this ring on the hand of your bride and repeat after me.

With this ring, I thee wed

With loyal love, I thee endow.

And all my worldly goods, with thee I share.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Farmie, this ring has not always been the beautiful gold that we see here today. It comes from the ground as rough ore---that had to be tried by a refiner fire----to drive away the impurities; now only the precious gold remains.

May this ring be a symbol of difficult times. Problems will come to your marriage, but they can be like the refiner fire that drives away the impurities---leaving only the precious gold of your love, a love that shall grow more precious and beautiful as years pass by.

Do you, Farmie, give this ring to FarmBoy as an expression of your love for him?

Me- I do.

Bucka- Will you, FarmBoy, take this ring from Farmie as a token of her love for you and will you wear it as an expression of your love for her?

FarmBoy- I will.

Bucka- Then as a ceaseless reminder of this hour and the vows you have taken, Farmie, place this ring on the hand of your groom and repeat after me....

With this ring, I thee wed.

Entreat me not to leave thee,

Nor return from following after thee.

For whither thou goest, I will go

And where thou lodgest, I will lodge.

Thy people shall be my people

And thy God, my God.

FarmBoy & Farmie, you have just sealed your covenant by the giving and receiving of rings.

This covenant is an agreement between two parties who agree that they will commit themselves to one another for the keeping of their partnership throughout their lives.

The most beautiful example of this partnership is the marriage relationship.

You have committed to share the rest of your lives with each other, and nothing, save death, should ever be allowed to cause you to part.

You entered this relationship as two distinct individuals, but from this day forth, your lives will be so totally melded together, that you should never be able so separate.

This covenant relationship is symbolized through the pouring of these two individual glasses of salt--one representing you FarmBoy, and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be, and the other representing you, Farmie, and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be.

As these two glasses of salt are poured into a single vessel, the individual glasses of salt will no longer exist, but be joined together as one.

Just as the grains of salt can never be separated and poured again into the individual glasses, so will your marriage be.

Far more important than your individuality, is the reality that you are no longer two, but one, never to be separated one from the other.

**We acted out the covenant**

**Bucka prayed for our marriage**

Bucka- FarmBoy & Farmie, we have heard your vows and you have symbolized your union by pledging your lives to each other, exchanging rings, and though the covenant of sale. So, by the authority of God's word, and the State of Illinois, as a minister of the Gospel, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

**This is where Bucka should have said, "You may kiss the bride," but instead he said, "It's your turn, FarmBoy," causing some confusion as we weren't sure the ceremony was over. FarmBoy looked at him, then at me, then Bucka said, "You can kiss her now."***

Husband, I love you more now than I did when I walked down that aisle 10 years ago. I thank the Lord for blessing me with you, my love, my partner, my covering, my friend.