Published
December 27, 1984. We received a wedding invitation in
the mail not long ago from Kelly Child and Henry Eyring, both former students
of mine. They took a class comprised mostly of engaged young adults, and then they
married this month.
December is a popular month for
marriage. In behalf of all such newlyweds, I would like to share this “Prayer
for Bride and Groom,” written by Louis H. Evans:
Oh God of love, Thou has established marriage for the
welfare and happiness of mankind. Thou has said, “It is not good for a man to
be alone. I will make a help mate for him.” Now our joys are doubled since the
happiness of one is the happiness of the other. Our burdens now are halved
since when we share them, we divide the load.
Bless this husband and wife. Bless them as providers of
nourishment and raiment and sustain them in all the exactions and pressures of
their battle for bread. May their strength be each other’s protection, may the
character of each be each other’s boast and pride, and may they live so that
they will each find in the other that for which their hearts truly long.
Give them a tenderness that will make them great, a deep
sense of understanding and a great faith in Thee. Give them that inner beauty .
. . that never fades, the eternal youth that is found in holding fast the
things that never age.
Teach them that marriage is not living merely for each
other. It is two uniting and joining hands to serve Thee. Give them a great
spiritual purpose in life.
May they not expect that perfection of each other that
belongs alone to Thee. May they minimize each other’s weaknesses, be swift to
praise and magnify each other’s points of comeliness and strength, and see each
other through a lover’s kind and patient eyes.
Now make such assignments to them on the scroll of Thy will
as will bless them and develop their characters as they walk together. Give
them enough tears to keep them tender, enough hurts to keep them humane, enough
of failure to keep their hand clenched tightly in Thine, and enough of success
to make them sure they walk with God.
May they never take each other’s love for granted, but
always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims, “Out of all this world
you have chosen me.”
When life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found
then as now still hand in hand, still thanking Thee for each other. May they
serve Thee happily, faithfully, together, until at last one shall lay the other
into the arms of God.
Kelly and Henry, and all others who
have recently married, we wish you well.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your thoughts about this article