For Better or Worse

The traditional American Wedding Vows:

"I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith [or] pledge myself to you."

Seems simple enough.

But I don't think most people have a clue what they are committing to or the depth of these vows.

If there was anyway to make these vows "real life" to people at the altar...how could we put it into words?

"...to have and to hold from this day forward" -- Oh this sounds nice, the having and the holding...  but just wait....

"for better, for worse"  -- The "better" we love!  Yeah!  Gimme some more of those days where we eat ice cream, bike to the park together, watch a thunderstorm, snuggle up by a fire and enjoy the night.  The "worse". Yuck.  How worse?  What about when family members and friends push you aside? Or your kids are out of control? What about when every moment of the day is filled with unimaginable emotional pain from kids, or others, or each other, or life in general?

"for richer, for poorer"  --  Richer sounds good.  Poorer, not so much.  How poor?  What will we lose?  What will we suffer?

"in sickness and in health"  --Well, the other day my hubby was holding me up in the bathtub has I was losing my lunch at both ends.  TMI - I know.  But these are the days no one wants to talk about or think about enduring.  What about those moments of extreme sickness, cancer, Alzheimer's?  What about morning sickness?  What about when the kids are all throwing up on you?  It's disgusting, I know, but this stuff actually happens.  

"to love and to cherish" -- Ah, well this sounds nice anyway.  Cue the singing birds.  Oh wait,  my hubby's not very loveable at the moment..what?  still cherish?  You mean I'M not very lovable at the moment?  Oh dear, more work to do.

"till death do us part" --  Oh, sure. I can do that.  Wait, till death!  Isn't that a long time away??  I got married when I was 18!  If you mean DEATH..then it may be 60 or 70 years!  With the SAME person!  

So here's my proposed new wedding vows:

I will be committed to you till the day I day.  Forsaking all others, I will be only yours.  I promise to be there when it's fun and not so fun.  I will be by your side when we are happy and not so happy.  I will be your cheerer, encourager, helper, and more.  When you are sick and helpless, I will help you. When the bank account is running on empty, I will help to save and scrimp and eat beans and rice. When the kids are yelling and my head is about to burst, I will still be here.  I may not always be the happy, calm person that I need to be but with your help and the help of Jesus, I will strive to be that person.  Putting God at the center of our marriage is my top priority.  Without Him, we can not do this journey.  

I love you bunches, Larry.