To Love and To Cherish

"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."

I was 20 years of age - an old maid - compared to my high school friends who had already married their sweetheart. On that hot August evening, I was convinced I knew what love was.  Forty four years later I am still learning. 

My husband, a veteran minister, always counseled young couples that "True love is not the glamor or romance.  True love is breakfast with the curlers (remember those pink ones), bad breath, beards, and all that goes with it. True love is nursing someone through surgery or the flu. True love means apologizing, getting along with in-laws, and swallowing pride."

In my years of parenting, mothering, and grandmothering, I have learned a lot about love, commitment, faithfulness, and devotion.  And the amazing and wonderful part is that I am still learning.  Some of my best teachers have been my daughters and now my grandchildren. Their words of wisdom are part of my every thought. 

Once I asked the oldest grandson, "What happens if you don't love someone?"  He looked at me very strangely and gave a wise reply for his young years, "You have to love. God said so."