He came home a few weeks ago and shared about something that occurred at work. An opportunity had been presented to him.

While discussing it together, an idea entered my head and I said aloud, “Do you think if that doesn’t work out, you and I can ….”

His quick response moved me to tears and has done so each time I think about his response: “If we do it together, there isn’t anything we can’t do.”

We went away for a few days, to rest, to unwind, to celebrate.

I sit on the hotel bathroom floor with my coffee alongside me, pecking my thoughts away. I am an early riser, he – not so much. I can hear his gentle snoring which over the years has become a soothing sound most nights.

When we met, we couldn’t have known of all the twists and turns life would hold for us. The ups and downs. The laughter and tears. The joy and the sorrows. The health and the illnesses. The births and the deaths. The gains and the losses. The successes and the defeats.

“If we do it together, there isn’t anything we can’t do.”

Perhaps it is why traditional wedding vows say, “Till death do you part.”

More so, it is why Scripture tells us to cleave to one another, for there is greater strength to be found in a secure and tested bond.

It’s then Scripture begins to weave its way into my thoughts, the King James version has a way of doing that from time to time:

“And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?” (Matthew 19:5)

It’s a word we don’t use very often any more – “cleave”. The dictionary tells me this means “to adhere closely to; to stick to; to cling to”. I took the liberty to add the word “to” each time it appears.

Why?

Because it matters to whom we are cleaving.

We haven’t gotten the cleaving part 100% of the time. But it was in those times, we were brought back to the Truth – we cleave to God and to each other.

I remember the words of a prayer read earlier:

“Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father,
You have brought us in safety to this new day:
Preserve us with your mighty power,
that we might not fall into sin,
nor be overcome by adversity;
and in all we do,
direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

(from The Book of Common Prayer)

“And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12, NKJV)

We’ve created something beautiful, which remains mystery to me. I look at the faces of our now adult children and the wonder of how the years have passed so quickly. The faces of our precious granddaughters, their smiles and laughter, their hugs and kisses – the blessing of it all astounds me.

There is something to be said, and gained, by the traditional wedding vows, the ones we spoke to each other forty (40!) years ago:

“I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, 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, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith pledge myself to you.”

We cleave to God and each other,
and continue to learn –
“a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”