‘Till Death Do Us Part’

We live in a disposable culture. Things generally aren't built to last. Sometimes we don’t even want things to last…. Otherwise, we might miss out on the latest, greatest version. It is easy to transfer this same mentality to our intimate relationships. However, enduring, loving relationships are one of the best investments we can make. Good relationships do not lose value—they only become richer the longer they last.

Still, it can be easy to lose sight of the true worth of your relationship. So we do everything in our power to prepare our relationship to go the distance—and achieve the dream of one day being that little old couple, happily sharing a park bench.

 “Till death do us part” is the famous vow in the standard marriage rite. Though I am in love with my husband and hope to be forever, the idea of eternal marriage is one that always draws my skepticism. It’s not that I do not have faith and such… I blame it on what I have seen throughout my life.

People change. That is for sure. But at the end of it, it is how the both of us will work things out to accept the change and to make the relationship last.

The idea of growing old after a marriage of 50 years or more to one person is something anyone would be fortunate to experience. Over the course of the last 14 years, my husband and I have grown as individuals and have been through ups and downs, yet our love is still stronger and we’re still striving to keep it that way. However, there are no guarantees in life thus there are no guarantees we will grow old together. We should just strive for the rewards of building a long-term marriage, through thick and thin, till death do us part.

In putting together our wedding ceremony fourteen years ago, we did not just focus on the vows. The celebration of our marriage was an opportunity to profess our love in front of our friends and family. We wanted not just to make promises but to celebrate our joys and hopes. Our joys are those qualities of the relationship that brought us closely together.

Our chief hope is to always be as happy as we were on our wedding day. With such happiness we would stay together throughout our life.

Saying all that, this morning at breakfast I see this couple who were probably in their eighties. The wife was in a wheelchair and although the husband didn't look too strapping himself, he slowly and carefully pushed her to a table and when she was settled in, he got up to buy a bowl of noodles.

When the bowl of noodles arrived, he proceeded to carefully place the noodles on the spoon as after giving it some soft gentle blows to cool it off, he gently, patiently and carefully fed it to his wife.  You would think they were sharing that bowl of noodles and how sweet it would be although probably a little sad as one would think they didn't have enough money for two bowls…. BUT he didn't take a bite of it at all. He continued to patiently feed his wife and with every spoonful he gave her, he would tell her in Chinese, “Slowly eat. Don’t rush.”

You could see it in both their eyes how much love they had for each other. This is a sight you do not see often or at all if I dare say so.

Seeing this old couple made me reconsider my skepticism for eternal marriage. This couple really brought true meaning to the vow “till death do us part”. We could all learn something from this.