Until Death Do Us Part

 I sat in a chair next to a man and his wife visiting last week. The man asked me to pray for his wife and all she does for him in his sickened condition. She is his primary caregiver. She does this joyfully and has for a long time. He knew she had a lot on her shoulders. She looked at him lovingly and said, "Until do us part we vowed." 

That really struck me. Many couples say that. Do they really mean it when things get hard? The divorce rates would indicate many couples do not take their vows seriously. Think about the traditional wedding vows. Do you promise to love and cherish (name of your spouse) in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part. Those are easy words say. Sometimes they are much harder to live. 

For instance, as couples age health problems may increase. Brenda daily battles rheumatoid arthritis. All of her joints ache. Watching her get up after sleeping or sitting for a long time is painful to watch. I deal with diabetes and one aching knee. Part of the wedding pledge to one another included loving in the hard times of health problems. We frequent doctor's offices more these days than we did three decades ago. Still the promise to love and remain faithful glues us together. 

Wedding vows call for couples to also love even when financial difficulties test and strain the relationship. Finances is one of the top issues couples fight about and divorce over. Finances shipwrecks many married couples. Arguments about such issues revolve in a vicious circle. Many do not survive. 

Until death parts us. June 29, 1991 I stood at the front of FBC Hurst, TX waiting for Brenda to walk in. She looked beautiful in that wedding dress. It hit me as she walked down the aisle how serious the covenant of marriage was. This was not like dating, going steady, or even being engaged. Brenda and I had talked about intentions to stay together before we were ever engaged. We both came from divorced homes. We were playing for keeps. Loving forever. Until death parts us. That was close to 32 years ago. There have been rough patches. Fights. Disagreements, Differences of opinions. Divorce is not an option for us. Till death do us part. There have also been countless joyous occasions, deeply engrained memories, and much laughter. She is still my best friend and my wife. 

I recently walked with a lady through the agonizing last stages of life for her husband. It was a real gut check. She is stunned trying to keep it together for her kids. She did not leave him when things got tough. She stayed true to the very end. Even when that end meant two weeks in ICU. She stayed at that hospital days on end. She loved him and stayed by his side until death parted them. 

Such devotion to marriage inspires me. Both couples have traveled many more miles down the marriage road than Brenda and me. There is much we can learn from them. Like remaining devoted to the goal of until death do us part. 

Several years ago, I preached the funeral for a couple that had been married for 75 years. I asked Mr. Russell when he knew he was going to marry Mrs. Russell. His reply made me chuckle. He said, "In 4th grade!" When he wheeled up to her casket in his wheelchair, his last words to her choked me up. He lovingly commented, "I'll see you again baby." Until death parted them. Now Mr. Russell is also in heaven. May we all remain true to our marriage vows until death parts us.