Opening Words 3
My friends, we have gathered today in the midst of verdant spring, a time for new beginnings in relationships, as well as in nature.
Yet while the first flowers of spring are gorgeous to behold, compellingly sweet to the senses, we know that it takes several seasons, much tender care and the weathering of many storms for the fruit of those perennial flowers to grow and ripen.
Similarly, it takes time for love to mature and reach its rightful completion.
This spring wedding ought to remind us that, like the seasons, human life -- the life of the spirit and the emotions -- moves in cycles.
To be in a loving relationship does not guarantee an eternal summer.
To make a sincere and honest commitment does not promise an end to all struggle.
What a good relationship does offer is opportunity for renewal.
It recognizes the abiding, shared hope that after every winter, spring will come again.
In marriage we make a commitment to weather patiently the cold and bitter times, to protect and tend that original love-seed until it bursts into bloom again.
We are here to celebrate beginnings, and to acknowledge that love, as anything else we would have abide for long, requires sustaining care and nurture.
In making this declaration to their family and friends, __________ and __________ express their eagerness to take up this lifelong challenge in seriousness and in joy.
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