Serenely the young minister’s voice went on: We have been invited to hear Ken and Dana as they
promise to face the future
together, accepting whatever joy or sadness may lie ahead. These surroundings were not chosen by chance. Those who love the sea can hear in I the heartbeat of Creation as the tides ebb and flow, the sun rises and sets, and the stars come nightly to the sky. For the beauty around us, for the
strength it offers, for the peace it brings, we are grateful. Yes, I thought, it does give strength. To find endurance all we have to do is seek out places where great and elemental things prevail. For some of us the sea. For some of the mountains, as the psalmist knew. I will lift up mine eyes … Now the words were being spoken directly to the young couple Dana and Ken, nothing is easier than saying words. Nothing is harder than living them, day after day. What you
promise today must be renewed and re decided tomorrow and each day that you want to be married. Can they understand that I asked myself, watching the clear young profiles. Can they possibly grasp I now? Or will the realization take years, as it has for most of us, and then come so quietly that they’re not even sure that it’s there?