Project 52: Week 7 - Words

Cindi,

When we first met, and I astounded you with how overwhelmingly boring I am, I never could have guessed how much it would change my life.  They say first impressions are the most important, so when you saw how staggeringly unimpressive and mind-numbingly uninteresting I was at our first encounter, you fell immediately in love with me, I’m sure.  Irresistible.

Given the importance of first impressions then, I really shouldn’t be surprised at how remarkable life is now.  Never before have I met someone so immediately mesmerizing.  A solitary beacon of blatant enchantment that could not be ignored.  I was caught by pleasant surprise, and as the days and years have passed I have continued to be amazed.

The more I learned about you, the deeper in awe I fell.  And as we grew over time, we grew closer together.  By some sort of celestial serendipity we found each other at a time when we so closely mirrored the same place in life.  Yet, though we shared the same values, goals, and perspectives, we still held qualities that complimented each other so well.  Where I considered myself weak, you were so strong.  You were so selfless when I was selfish.  Considerate when I was inattentive.  Perfectly on course where I was lost.

I have learned so much from you, and your love has helped me to grow in immeasurable ways.  I can no longer find where we used to draw the lines between you and me.  As “us” and “we” we’re not who we were when we met, but our love -- though stronger and deeper – remains the same.  It’s comforting to know that we love each other for what makes us who we’ve been, who we are, and who we will become -– rather than for how we happen to be at a given point in time.

You’ve shown me that together I don’t have to fear the unknown.  That we don’t always have to have a plan.  That the “new” and “different,” and “change” and “risk” I experience outside of my comfort zone isn’t negative.  As life takes us down paths we don’t yet know have been made for us, I know we will each be the reliable constant on which the other can depend.

You never ask me to be anything I’m not, and I vow to always show you the same unrestricted love.  I will leave this world a better man than I entered it because of you -- because from today onward we will be a part of each other.

Your fearlessness makes me courageous.  Your conviction grants me confidence.  And your resolve supplies me with strength.

I promise to take this journey with you, and never abandon you. 

I pledge to you all my love, and will put our family first.  

I promise to always support you in all that you do. I will fight alongside you when you face opposition.  I promise to challenge you when I know you can handle it (but you’re scared that you can’t).  To walk with you when you can’t be alone (and even when you can be).  To lead when you are lost, and to unwaveringly follow when you need my faith.

I vow to love you, all the rest of our days.

Chris' wedding vows - 8.28.10