"Marriage Means Being In Love for the Rest of Your Life"
by Chris Ardis
Marriage is love walking hand in hand together.
It's laughing with each other about silly little things,
and learning to discuss big things with care and tenderness.
In marriage, love is trusting each other when you're apart.
It's getting over disappointments and hurts,
knowing that these are present in all relationships.
It's the realization that there is no one else in this world
that you’d rather be with than the one you're married to.
It's thinking of new things to do together;
It's growing old together.
Marriage is being in love for the rest of your life.
"The Promise"
by
Eileen Rafter
published with the authors permission
"The sun danced on the snow with a glittering smile,
As two lovers sat quietly, alone for a while.
Then he turned and said, with a casual air,
(Though he blushed from his toes to the tips of his hair)
“I think I’d quite like to get married to you.”
“Well then,” she said, “well there’s a thought,
But what if we can’t vow to be all that we ought?
Can you promise me, say, you won’t grumble and shout
If I’m late yet again when we plan to go out?
For I know I can’t say that I’ll learn to ignore
Dirty socks and damp towels strewn all over the floor.
So if we can’t promise to be all that we should,
I’m not sure what to do, though the idea’s quite good.”
But he gently smiled and tilted his head
Till his lips met her ear, then softly he said,
“I promise, to weave my dreams into your own.
That wherever you breathe shall be my heart’s home.
I promise, that whether with rags or with gold I am blessed,
Your smile is the jewel I shall treasure the best.
Do you think then, my love, we should marry, do you?”
“Yes,” she said smiling “I do.”
"On Your Wedding Day"
Author Unknown
"Today is a day you will always remember
The greatest in anyone's life
You'll start off the day just two people in love
And end it as Husband and Wife
It's a brand new beginning the start of a journey
With moments to cherish and treasure
And although there'll be times when you both disagree
These will surely be outweighed by pleasure
You'll have heard many words of advice in the past
When the secrets of marriage were spoken
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
Where the bond of true love lies unbroken
So live happy forever as lovers and friends
It's the dawn of a new life for you
As you stand there together with love in your eyes
From the moment you whisper 'I do'
And with luck, all your hopes, and your dreams can be real
May success find it's way to your hearts
Tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
But today is the day it all starts."
"Love"
Author Unknown
Love is a friendship that has caught fire.
It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving.
It is loyalty through good and bad.
It settles for less than perfection,
and makes allowances for human weakness.
Love is content with the present.
It hopes for the future and it doesn't brood over the past.
It's the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small
disappointments, big victories,
and working toward common goals.
If you have love in your life,
it can make up for a great many things you lack.
If you don't have it, no matter what else there is,
it is not enough, so search for it, ask God for it, and share it!
"Fidelity"
by D.H. Lawrence
Man and woman are like the earth,
that brings forth flowers
in summer, and love, but underneath is rock.
Older than flowers, older than ferns,
older than foraminiferae,
older than plasm altogether is the soul underneath.
And when, throughout all the wild chaos of love
slowly a gem forms, in the ancient,
once-more-molten rocks
of two human hearts, two ancient rocks,
a man's heart and a woman's,
that is the crystal of peace,
the slow hard jewel of trust,
the sapphire of fidelity.
The gem of mutual peace
emerging from the wild chaos of love.
"Prayer of Love"
My marriage prayer for you is this:
That you will always remember the qualities that attracted you
to each other when you first met and how you felt as your feelings
of attraction turned into respect, admiration and finally love.
That you will work hard to turn your feelings of love into acts of love
so that nothing and no one can divide you.
That you will always have kind and loving hearts that are quick
to ask for forgiveness when you are wrong
as well as to forgive when your partner is wrong.
That your love might grow to hear all things, believe all
things, and hope for all things, endure all things.
I pray you place your marriage in God's hands, and that your
love increases and overflows, beyond anything you can yet imagine.
"Beyond the Reflection"
by Thomas Merton
"The beginning of love is to let those we
love be perfectly themselves, and not to
twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise
we love only the reflection of ourselves
we see in them."
"This Bridge"
by Shel Silverstein
"This bridge will only take you halfway there
To those mysterious lands you long to see:
Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs
And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.
So come and stay awhile with me and share
The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.
But this bridge will only take you halfway there...
The last few steps you'll have to take alone."
"The Magic Of Love"
by Helen Steiner Rice
"Love is like magic
And it always will be,
For love still remains
Life's sweet mystery!
Love works in ways
That are wondrous and strange
And there's nothing in life
That love cannot change!
Love can transform
The most commonplace
Into beauty and splendour
And sweetness and grace!
Love is unselfish,
Understanding and kind,
For it sees with its heart
And not with its mind!
Love is the answer
That everyone seeks...
Love is the language
That every heart speaks...
Love can't be bought
It is priceless and free,
Love, like pure magic,
Is a sweet mystery!"
"Sonnet 116"
by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds.
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is not shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom,
If this be error, and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
"Love Is Enough"
by William Morris (1834-1896)
"Love is enough: though the World be a-waning,
And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining,
Though the sky be too dark for dim eyes to discover
The gold-cups and daisies fair blooming thereunder,
Though the hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder
And this day draw a veil over all deeds pass'd over,
Yet their hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter;
The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter
These lips and these eyes of the loved and the lover."
"All I Want"
Author Unknown
All I want is to love you
For the rest of my life....
To wake up every morning
With you by my side,
Knowing that no matter what happens
I’ll be able to come home
To your loving arms.
All I want is to share everything with you....
To talk to you about our ideas, our dreams,
The little everyday things that make us laugh,
And the not-so-little things
That we can’t help worrying about.
All I want is to give you my love....
As a place you can always come to for acceptance
Or the simple comfort that silence brings
When things left unspoken can still be understood.
All I want is to grow old with you...
To watch our life unfold,
Our dreams, one by one, come true.
All I want is to love you forever.
"Sonnet 18"
by William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as man can breath, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
"Somewhere"
by Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904)
"Somewhere there waiteth in this world of ours
for one lone soul, another lonely soul -
Each chasing each through all the weary hours,
And meeting strangely at one sudden goal;
Then blend they - like green leaves with golden flowers,
Into one beautiful and perfect whole -
And life's long night is ended, and the way
Lies open onward to eternal day."
"Friendship"
by Hartley Coleridge (1726-1849)
"When we were idlers with the loitering rills,
The need of human love we little noted:
Our love was nature; and the peace that floated
On the white mist,
And dwelt upon the hills,
To sweet accord subdued our wayward wills:
One soul was ours, one mind, one heart devoted,
That, wisely doting, ask'd not why it doted,
And ours the unknown joy, which knowing kills.
But now I find how dear thou wert to me;
That man is more than half of nature's treasure,
Of that fair beauty which no eye can see,
Of that sweet music which no ear can measure;
And now the streams may sing for others' pleasure,
The hills sleep on in their eternity."
"Love"
by Roy Croft
"I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am when I am with you.
I love you,
Not only for what you have made of yourself,
But for what you are making of me.
I love you for
the part of me that you bring out;
I love you for
putting your hand into my heaped-up heart
And passing over all the foolish, weak things
that you can't help dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out into the light
All the beautiful belongings
that no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.
I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern, but a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.
I love you because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it by being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
being a friend means, after all."
"I Will Be Here"
by Steven Curtis Chapman
"If in the morning when you wake,
If the sun does not appear,
I will be here.
If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
I will be here.
I will be here,
When you feel like being quiet,
When you need to speak your mind I will listen.
Through the winning, losing, and trying we'll be together,
And I will be here.
If in the morning when you wake,
If the future is unclear,
I will be here.
As sure as seasons were made for change,
Our lifetimes were made for years,
I will be here.
I will be here,
And you can cry on my shoulder,
When the mirror tells us we're older.
I will hold you, to watch you grow in beauty,
And tell you all the things you are to me.
We'll be together and I will be here.
I will be true to the promises I've made,
To you and to the one who gave you to me.
I will be here."
"The Promises of Marriage"
"Marriage is a promise of companionship,
Of having someone to share
All of life's experiences.
Marriage does not promise that there will
Not be any rough times,
Just the assurance that there will
Always be someone
Who cares and will help you through
To better times.
Marriage does not promise eternal romance,
Just eternal love and commitment.
Marriage cannot prevent disappointments,
Disillusionment, or grief,
But it can offer hope, acceptance,
And comfort.
Marriage can't protect you from making
Individual choices
Or shelter you from the world,
But it will help to reassure you
That there is some by your side
Who truly cares,
When the world hurts you
And makes you feel vulnerable,
Marriage offers the promise that there will
Be someone waiting to listen,
To console, to inspire.
Marriage is the joining of two people
Who share the promise
That only marriage can make ...
To share the sunshine and the shadows,
And to experience a richer, more fulfilling life
Because of it."
"Reprise"
by Ogden Nash (1902-1971)
"Geniuses of countless nations
Have told their love for generations
Till all their memorable phrases
Are common as goldenrod or daisies.
Their girls have glimmered like the moon,
Or shimmered like a summer moon,
Stood like a lily, fled like a fawn,
Now the sunset, now the dawn,
Here the princess in the tower
There the sweet forbidden flower.
Darling, when I look at you
Every aged phrase is new,
And there are moments when it seems
I've married one of Shakespeare's dreams."
"In An Instant"
by Rev. Melissa L Straub
www.occasionallyyoursbrevard.com
"Our soulmates exist
In this well charted life
When we find them we know
In an instant it's right
And although to some
It seems far too fast
Who are we to judge
When their hearts meet at last
For they have known all along
To whom they belong
Their souls come together
Like a well rehearsed song
Let us support and nurture
The love these two know
So that through their lives together
This love shall continue to glow."
"All Things Are Ours"
by Barbara Burrow
"All things are ours because we love
The earth below, the sky above,
The mountains, meadow, sand, and sea.
All things surrounding you and me
Are but a sweet reflection of
The gentle wonder of our love."
"I Ask The Impossible"
by Anna Castillo
"I ask the impossible: love me forever.
Love me when all desire is gone.
Love me with the single-mindedness of a monk.
When the world and all its entirety,
and all that you hold sacred, advise you
against it: love me still more.
When rage fills you and has no name: love me.
When each step from your door to your job ties you-
love me; and from job to home again.
Love me when you are bored -
when everyone you see is more beautiful than the last,
or more pathetic, love me as you always have:
not as admirer or judge, but with
the compassion you save for yourself
in your solitude.
Love me as you relish your loneliness,
the anticipation of your death,
mysteries of the flesh, as it tears and mends.
Love me as your most treasured childhood memory-
and if there is none to recall -
imagine one, place me there with you.
Love me withered as you loved me new.
Love me as if I were forever -
and I will make the impossible
a simple act,
by loving you, loving you as I do."
"Love is..."
by Andrea Hill
"More beautiful than roses
Much deeper than the seas
Stronger than a hurricane
But timid like a breeze
Real as in a picture
But yet it can't be seen
More beautiful than anything
As vivid as a dream
Precious as rare jewels
A bond between two hearts
A symphony of feelings
When time is spent apart
Sharing common interests
Working through all fears
Looking at yourself
As if two were in the mirror
Finding common ground
On issues not agreed
Giving into arguments
Tending all your needs
Being there for always
Is all I want to do
Holding you forever
Because our love is true"
"The Colour Of My Love"
by David Foster and Arthur Janov
"I'll paint a sun to warm your heart
Knowing that we'll never part.
I'll draw the years all passing by
So much to learn, so much to try.
I'll paint my mood in shadow blue,
Paint my soul to be with you.
I'll sketch your lips in shaded tones,
Draw your mouth to my own.
I'll trace a hand to wipe your tears
And trace a look to calm your fears.
A silhouette of dark and light
To hold each other oh so tight.
I'll paint the stars in the evening sky,
Draw the light into your eyes,
A touch of love, a touch of grace,
To softly fall on your moonlit face.
And with this ring our lives will start,
Let nothing keep our love apart.
I'll take your hand to hold in mine,
And be together through all time."
"From This Day Forward"
Author Unknown
"From this day forward,
You shall not walk alone.
My heart will be your shelter,
And my arms will be your home".
"My True Love Hath My Heart"
by Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
"My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,
By just exchange one for another given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,
There never was a better bargain driven:
My true-love hath my heart, and I have his,
My heart in me keeps him and me in one,
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guide:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own,
I cherish his because in me it bides:
My true-love hath my heart, and I have his."
"May Our Friendship Last Forever"
Author Unknown
May our friendship last forever;
May I sail upon your sea.
May we go through life together;
May there always be a "we."
May I be your endless sky;
May you breathe my gentle air.
May you never wonder why
Each time you look for me, I'm there.
May we be for each a smile
Like the warm, life-giving sun;
Yet when we're in pain awhile,
May our suffering be one.
May we share our special days,
The happiness of one for two;
And if we must go separate ways,
Let my love remain with you.
"Marriage is ....."
by Anon, 1st century China
" Marriage is a dynamic process of discovery
Marriage is a journey, not an arrival.
In marriage, being the right person is as important
as finding the right person.
Marriage is starting to love, over and over again.
Marriage is a life's work.
Marriage is an art... and like any creative process,
It requires active thought and effort.
We have to learn how to share on many different levels.
We need to practice talking from the heart,
And understanding attitudes as well as words.
Giving generously and receiving graciously
are talents that are available to anyone.
But all these skills need to be developed,
if the marriage picture that we paint is to be anything
approaching the masterpiece intended.
"If You Can Always Be As Close"
by Larry S. Chengges
"And as happy as today,
Yet be secure enough to grow
And change along the way.
If you can keep for you alone
Your love as man and wife,
Yet find the time to share your joy
With others in your life.
If you can be as one
And walk through marriage hand in hand,
Yet still support the goals and dreams
That each of you have planned.
If you can dare to always go
Your separate ways together,
Then all the wonder of today
Will stay with you forever. "
"A Lifetime of Love"
Author Unknown
"The most ideal expression of love
is the joining in spirit of two people whose hearts are as one.
'Love'
A word that promises so many happy tomorrows,
That gives meaning to everyday moments of sharing ..
That strengthens and supports in difficult time..
That makes a commitment that never ends.
Today is the beginning of a whole new life together
A life of special moments, shared with love.
Today is the beginning of countless bright tomorrows..
Filled with all the special dreams you are dreaming of.
May the happiness you have found together be yours
throughout a lifetime of love."
"This Life Is Yours"
Author Unknown
"Take the power
To choose what you want to do
And do it well
Take the power
To love what you want in life
And love it honestly
Take the power
To walk in the forest
And be a part of nature
Take the power
To control your own life
No one else can do it for you
Take the power
To make your life happy"
"Desiderata"
by Max Erhmann
"As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth
quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexation to the spirit. If you compare yourself
with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser
persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep invested in your
own career, however humble. It is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise
caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to
what virtue there is: many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of
heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in
the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel
of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield
you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of
fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child
of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether
or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace
with yourself. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be
careful. Strive to be happy."
"Possibility"
by Ralph Masrton
"In the seed, there is a forest waiting to grow.
On the artist's canvas, a masterpiece is waiting to be painted.
In the engineer's workstation,
a technical breakthrough is waiting to be developed.
Everywhere there is possibility.
Every moment of every life is filled with possibilities,
and the next moment as well.
Every problem has a possible solution.
Every goal has a possibility of achievement.
Right now, right this moment,
your life has possibilities that you never even considered.
Possibilities you can follow to overcome the challenges you face.
Possibilities that can bring joy and fulfilment.
There is a pathway leading to wherever you want to go.
All you need to do is find it and start the journey.
Today does not have to be like yesterday.
There are plenty of other possibilities.
Consider your possibilities. Follow your possibilities.
Open yourself to what could be, and make it so."
"A Marriage...."
by Mark Twain
"Makes of two fractional lives a whole;
It gives to two purposeless lives a work
And doubles the strength of each to perform it
It gives to two questioning natures a reason for living,
And something to live for;
It will give a new gladness to the sunshine,
A new fragrance to the flowers,
A new beauty to the earth,
And a new mystery to life"
"Love Is The Most Incredible
Of All The Experiences That Touch Our Lives"
Author Unknown
"It creates for us the world that we want to live in.
From the beginning of our lives,
we know that love is the power that comforts and protects us;
It is the one feeling that we can depend upon
to help us through life's ups and downs.
Love is the understanding and security that never changes;
It allows us to be ourselves and feel self confident.
Today, as the two of you join together and commit your love to each other, remember the
lessons of love that you have always known.
Let your love comfort, support and encourage you.
Let your love be the best part of your lives;
Always know that it will make everything better
and it will make your world a place of happiness.
“Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog”
by Taylor Mali
"First of all, it’s a big responsibility,
So think long and hard before deciding on love.
On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you’re walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love
ain’t no one going to mess with you.
Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
Who knows what love could do in its own defense?
On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breaths
and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.
Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.
Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.
Love makes messes.
Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after.
Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper
and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain,
just to let love know ‘Don’t you ever do that again!’
Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise.
It runs you around the block and leaves you panting.
It pulls you in several different directions at once,
or winds around and around you
until you’re all wound up and can’t move.
But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love
stop and talk to each other on the street.
Throw things away and love will bring them back,
again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.
And in return, love loves you and never stops."
"Why Marriage?"
by Mari Nichols-Haining
Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body…
Because I need a forever friend to trust
with the intimacies of me,
Who won’t hold them against me,
Who loves me when I’m unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me, and
Who looks for the divine potential of me…
Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone who thanks God for me,
With someone I feel blessed to hold…
Because marriage means opportunity
To grow in love in friendship…
Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements…
Because marriages do not fail, people fail
When they enter into marriage
Expecting another to make them whole…
Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility
For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness
I create me, I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage…
Because of this understanding
The possibilities are limitless.