until death

posted by ivy on Sep 15, 2012 in jesse + ivy

to all the deaf people who attended the wedding… (;  (;  (;

my vow to jesse . . .

here we are.  look what god did.  (:

the other day i was thinking about how great you are — not just great to me, but just great, period — and it hit me that, whoa, the lord loves me that much to give you to me.

when i got serious about who god really is and what my life really was, the longings and prayers for a husband were not far off.  i needed and wanted a man who loved and served the lord, and i prayed continually for that.  now here i am and i have that — in addition to someone i enjoy and am drawn to and am happy and excited over — and i’m just blown away by how much the lord loves me to give me all this.

he’s blessed me with you, jesse, and i’m going to honor this gift.  i’m excited to marry you and i’m excited to be your wife and i’m excited to be standing here with you even though all these people freak me out, but i’m very serious about what we’re doing here today:  coming together, becoming one, a single flesh.  forever.

i will love you as god has called me to love you according to his word (respect, submit, honor, serve, help, follow), i will love you unconditionally as god loves us unconditionally, and i will love and serve him alongside you in and with our marriage.  i stand before you and before these people and in god’s presence, and i give you my word.

jesse’s vows . . .

ivy, you have captivated my  heart with just once glance from  your eyes . . . and you’ve had me from the first moment we met!

i’m so humbled and honored that the lord would bring YOU into my life and allow me to love you and serve you as your husband!  the lord gives good gifts to his children, and you are proof to me of that deep truth.  you are a gift!  you are everything i’ve ever wanted and more! . . . and nothing i deserve.  you are pure grace.  the proverbs say that a woman who fears the lord is to be praised, so i promise to sing over you always!

i can’t wait to see all the ways the lord uses us to make each other more like christ and how he uses our marriage to reflect the perfect love of jesus christ for his people.  i promise you that i will strive to love you like that!  i’ll lay down my life to love you with my whole heart.  . . . and just like jesus promises, i promise to never leave you or forsake you.  i will lead you by loving you sacrificially, covering you with prayer and washing you with the word.

ivy, i commit my love and my life to you.  forever.