209. A vow to the Lord: For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.

20 October 2021

A vow to the Lord.

Numbers 30

2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.

Deuteronomy 23

23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

The Marriage Vow

Genesis 2 KJV

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Cleave 

verb 

To adhere, cling, or stick fast. 

To be faithful.

From christianmarriageadventure website/better-leave-cleave-marriage/

"Leaving and cleaving demands that we redefine who our immediate family is.

Getting married doesn’t mean you can’t still look to your parents for wisdom, friendship, and love. You can. What this does mean, though, is that you need to reorder who ranks the highest on your priority list. It should now be:

God 

Spouse 

Others, including parents and siblings 

Give your spouse priority over parents and siblings 

It’s likely that you were fairly independent from your parents by the time you got married. Even so, as a single, you may have still looked to your parents for practical advice, emotional support, and often catered to their interests above those of others. 

At first, this may require you to go against what’s been your previous, normal inclinations pre-marriage. But the more you make the choice to consider your spouse first, the easier and more natural it will become."

From theknot website/content/traditional-wedding-vows-from-various-religions

"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 [or] pledge myself to you."

My wife has been with me from that "day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health."

I have been in better, worse, richer, poorer, good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, and my wife has always been there for me.

Marlou made sacrifice career-wise, left corporate work after working for 8 years, to be full-time wife, and hands-on mother to personally look after our children. That was, 5 years into our marriage, in 1989 after our youngest Paolo was born. 

She even made sacrifices when I was in famine and affliction, between 2000 and 2005, she doing physical work baking to make ends meet.

My wife Marlou is a woman of great faith. 

I am indeed more than blessed. I could not imagine myself being able to survive severe adversities, and reaching my senior years without her. That, I can attest. The Lord has been good for His gift to me in the life of Marlou.

My wife developed hypertension due to menopause, and anxiety recently.

I have been through severe depression, Stevens Johnson's syndrome with long-term anxiety, hypertension due to PTB medication, among others.

Having gone through such illnesses, I offer my wife comfort and encouragement during her episodes of hypertension and anxiety. One time last year in the midst of the pandemic, she had severe anxiety attack that she was asking me to bring her to the hospital. I was able to comfort her that it would pass; taking her medication, she was able to take a nap, she got recharged and the anxiety was gone.

By God's grace, my wife and I, we have been through thick and thin.

For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.

From fb post of Romeo Patricio.

"The sincerity of wife is known during difficult financial situation of the husband.

The sincerity of husband is known during the sickness of his wife."

""I am under vows to you, my God;

    I will present my thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered me from death

    and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

    in the light of life.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

    in the Lord, whose word I praise—

in God I trust and am not afraid.

    What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:12-13, 3, 10-11). This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

7 February 2018"

May you be blessed with God's Word.

Maraming salamat.