A Love That Endures
My beloved late husband, Peter, represented a client who was holding a renewing of the vows ceremony between himself and his wife. This couple truly had nothing when they started their lives together. They were just eighteen and nineteen years of age when they got married. They had just arrived in this country from Haiti. They hardly knew anyone in this country. They had arrived here with no family. They just had a couple of friends who became witnesses at their wedding at the local courthouse. They were so poor that their wedding rings were the decorative bands that were wrapped around cigars.
Life was not easy for them at the start yet with love and determination, they managed to create a wonderful and successful life together. They were blessed with two children. They worked hard and prospered. They were determined that their son and daughter would have all the advantages that they did not have. They inspired their children to be ambitious and have an aim in life. They studied hard. One child became a doctor and the other a doctor. The couple realized that to get on in life, they too must become educated. After years of night education, the husband realized his dream. He became the head of a department in a prestigious company. He was trusted and well respected. The couple were quite proud of how much they and their children had achieved. It was all through perseverance and hard work. From being a young couple with no family, money, and no education, they now were homeowners and respected members of the community.
The years rushed by. On their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, they decided to renew their vows. They wished for the wedding that they never had. They invited a group of friends to share this very special occasion. We were amongst the ones invited. She was dressed in an elegant ivory gown and he in a tuxedo. He designed a wedding band that looked like the cigar band with which they got married. Not knowing that, she asked him if she could choose a diamond ring which she had never had. Of course, he agreed. At some moment that evening, he kneeled in front of her and proposed once more. He told her and everyone there that when they were young he could not afford to have a wedding nor a ring. Now he could. He told her that through the years his love for her only grew deeper and she became more precious. He said he could not perceive life without her. As he held her two hands in his, he kissed them and asked her to marry him once more. By the time he was done speaking, there was not a dry eye in the room. That was more than twenty years ago, yet I could never forget that evening and the love and beauty that filled that room. That was one of the most special ‘weddings’ I ever attended.
```