Unspoken Vows

What an awesome day! I’m just outside Capitan, New Mexico with my bride. We have some great friends who are renewing their commitment of love to each other through the renewal of their wedding vows, and they’ve chosen the beautiful setting of the mountains of New Mexico for the ceremony. It’s just the four of us here, and Heather and I are humbled and honored to be a part of it.

As I sit here on the patio preparing for the ceremony this evening, I’ve been thinking about the significance of vows. Although wedding vows are often the first thing that come to my mind, I realize vows quite simply are the commitments we make. They’re the promises we make to be devoted to something — bounding us to be devoted to a service, an act, or a condition (like marriage).

The renewing of marriage vows is a symbolic and open commitment. It’s a spoken vow. In front of friends, family, and God, we make a commitment to love and cherish our spouse. But what about the unspoken vows in our life? When we choose to be a real friend to someone, we make an unspoken vow to respect each other and make sacrifices for each other. When we choose a career, we make an unspoken vow to our employer to do our best work and to act with integrity. Our life is full of unspoken vows.

Along the road of life, stuff is going to happen that will impact our commitments (our vows). It happens in our personal life, and it happens in our professional life. However, I have good news. We get to choose how to deal with the “stuff.” We either break our commitments (which is very easy when it’s an unspoken vow), or we choose to renew our commitments to the things and people who are most important to us. Today is a reminder for me that I need to examine the unspoken vows in my life. I encourage you to do the same.

To my friends, Ryan and Cory Caroll, congratulations on the renewal of your wedding vows. We are honored to be a part of your celebration! You are faithful servants, and it is our prayer that God continues to bless your time on this earth.

Enthusiastically,

Clint Swindall