Wedding Vows from August 29, 1981 – Ed & Carol
We wrote these a little before the wedding, using the standard vows as a starting point, so we would include everything the Church required. They reflect our experience during our brief courtship. It has been a very wonderful marriage.
Ed: I take you, Carol, to be my wife; to share Christ’s love with you, and to always encourage you in your walk with the Lord. I solemnly vow to respect you as I should respect my own body, and to put your needs before my own. I promise to affirm you as a woman, and always remind you of how much I love you. I also renew my promise to the Lord, to stay close to Him so that I will never do anything to decrease your joy in Jesus. I also resolve to remain faithful to you always, regardless of anything, even bad health or poverty; even as Christ loves His Church, so do I love you. I will do my best to fulfill my responsibilities to you and to the Lord, until we go home to Him.
Carol: Ed, today is such a special day for us. It’s the first day of our lives together as one. We have so much ahead of us and in that future I give you all thiat I am. I will stay by you in all things, whether they be good or bad. I will love you and be faithful to you until death. I will encourage you when you need encouragement and will share all of your joys and sorrows. I will be one with you. I’ll be open to correction and learning for my growth as a person and I will offer encouragement for your growth. I will be true to our Lord through all times, and, in that, I will be a good example to you and to others so that you would never be ashamed of me. I will encourage you in your dedication and love for the Lord and do all I can to keep you close to Him always. I will tend to your physical needs, your emotional needs, your intellectual needs, your psychological needs, and your spiritual needs. I will be less selfish and more self-giving. I will care for you in sickness and do all I can to preserve your health. I will accept children when the Lord chooses to bless us with them and will do my best to raise them in the love of Jesus. I will be with you always and be your wife. I will be all that God expects of me in that role including being a submissive and virtuous woman. I love you, Ed, and I thank God for His blessings on us in the life He has chosen for us.