10 years later...

Yesterday, our pastor said, "I can tell you, this man loves this woman." I know Bill loves me but to hear someone else say it, it has a different meaning.

I didn't do anything to deserve him but I am glad God sent him my way...

I love you, Sherry,

and I know that God has brought us together.

Because of this,

I desire to be your husband and best friend, always.

Together we will serve Him in accordance with His plan,

so that in all areas of our life Christ will be evident.

Through the pressures of the present and the uncertainties of the future,

I promise to be faithful to you.

There will be no other.

I promise to always forgive you no matter what you have done,

so that nothing will ever separate us.

I promise to love, guide, and protect you as Christ does His Church,

as long as we both are alive.

According to Ephesians 5 and with His enabling power,

I promise to strive to show to you the same kind of love, on a daily basis,

as Christ showed the Church when He died for her,

and to love you as a part of myself because in His sight we are one.

If you were to tell me ten years ago I would be standing here renewing my wedding vows, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I stand here today with you, my best friend, in front of our friends and family to rededicate our marriage. You have changed my life and made me complete. I am a better person because of you. I have learned how to love and be loved. I have learned to believe in myself. I have been blessed with the gift of our children and felt the happiness of being a mother. I have the honor of raising our children with you. The past ten years have brought more joy I could have ever imagined and I look forward to making many more memories. They have also brought some of the worst pain that I have ever felt and never thought I could bear. But I stand here today because you stood by me. You held my hand, you lifted me up, you let me cry, and pulled me through. I don’t know what this life has yet to bring us but I know that as long as you are by my side we will make it through. I promise to walk with you for the rest of my life. I promise to be faithful to you. I promise to be there for you whenever you need me. I will hold your hand through the hard times. I will rejoice with you in the happy times. I thank God for leading me to that little church where we met. I also thank Him because there are no coincidences we were meant to be and I know that as long as we walk together with Him this marriage will last forever.