Til Death Do Us Part....

I, Julie, take thee, Kurt, to be my wedded husband, 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 forever, according to God's Holy Ordinance, and thereto I give thee my pledge.

"On this special day, I am reminded of the verse James l:17 which says, "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." With a gift such as you, I know that many new responsibilities face me. In I Corinthians, it explains "It is required of a steward to be found trustworthy." I cannot do this on my own strength, but by God's grace and power working within me I desire to be trustworthy as your wife by following your leading submissively, even as unto Christ, loving and serving you in all circumstances as long as He give me life on this earth." *{this was a variation on non-traditional wedding vows that I came across, and liked)

(beautiful image by Kimberly McCole - sharing from her imagery blog) Did you ever hear that Swans mate for life? That is so marvelous to me. These beautiful birds are absolutely my FAVORITE water fowl. Not only are they gorgeous, but they are so graceful and as the photos captured by Kim reveal, they are very intimate in their togetherness. It is very moving to watch these feathered lovelies... The fact that they stay together until death parts the pair is a wonderful picture. Kurt and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this May. "Til Death Do We Part" is a serious statement and vow to take on. Two people coming together with different backgrounds, different family upbringings, different personalities, different genders, different likes....what a challenge. And yet, I confess here, that it is NOT by my abilities, or my super sweet nature, or my easy to get along with style that made this marriage work...for I am no super woman who excels in any of the above...It is simply put, God working on me and through me, that made me able to become the kind of wife I am supposed to be...and a very patient husband waiting in the wings.. :-) And of course - vice versa. And so when I came across (GW) this needlepoint picture on the beautiful blue waters background, I KNEW exactly where it would go. It was THE piece I had been waiting to pop up in my trial and error search (or wait) for my master bedroom.

In the move to Cedar Rapids, I found that the only way our King-size bed would fit well in the lay-out of the Master room was to be up against the double windows of the back wall. I have never had the bed situated against windows before in 30 years...so it was a challenge to me to deal with NOT having a blank canvas wall to hang art on...I had tried a cherub planter, a toile print, a mirror and a tole cone with ivy, between the two windows...None of them were clicking. Until NOW. My mama used to say I was hard to shop for, because I didn't always really know what I wanted, I just knew when I did see "IT"...that it would pop out and hit me and I would know. I remember on just one occasion I was looking for Sunday shoes, and just couldn't find any that I liked. When mom and dad asked me what they looked like, I replied I wasn't sure, but I would know them when I saw them. About 5 or 6 shoe stores later, I'm sure....I saw them and said THAT'S THEM! *(God was merciful and they had my size) :-p

Such was the discovery of this sweet framed needlepoint work of these beautiful swans. And so the "Window Headboard" wall is complete. ahhhhh.. Love it.

A 24/7 reminder that I Love this man I have committed my life to...and so it shall be....til death do us part...God's Grace is sufficient. amen.

Hugs to all my bloggy sisters and visitors today. Have a beautiful day. God bless you.

We LOVE you Justin. God Bless you and give you strength to face whatever comes before you each day on this MEU and do it with all your might.