In sickness and in health

I made a promise to keep loving, honouring and respecting Jeremy in poverty or in riches, in sickness or in health, for better or for worse. I have occasionally spent time wondering what it would look like to really love my husband in the worse situations, and specifically - what it would look like to love him through sickness. I wonder what it would look like to have to give that much more to care for someone for a long period, and how, in those situations, I may want to give up but would need to remember that I promised to love him in just such worse, sick situations.

But never before this weekend did it ever cross my mind that there's another side to those vows. I have always realized that I was promising to keep my covenant commitment if my spouse was sick... but it had never dawned on me that I have also promised to keep my covenant commitments if I am the one who is sick.

If I am ill, have a fever, have a long-term disease, have recurring aches and pains... somehow, I have still promised to love, honour and respect Jeremy. To put him first. To care for him. To the best of my ability.

I just had never thought about that before.