I was leading a session the other day and during a group reflection activity I decided to share with the group the news that I’m getting married this summer.
I surprised myself by sharing it; I tend to be a private person, and as a woman in professional spaces—where I’m routinely asked about marriage and children while my male counterparts are not—I’m intentional about what I choose to disclose. But in this particular conversation we were talking about what we all feel we owe this moment in history, and with my own new experience of commitment so fresh in my mind and heart, it occurred to me that it’s actually a time to reaffirm our commitments to a better, more just world. For those of us who have spent years working towards this reality with love and dedication, the moment calls us to build new expressions of that love, and in many ways, renew our vows.
A renewal of vows can take on many forms, but typically it’s a ceremony at which a couple reaffirms their commitment to one another publicly. I’ve attended a number of vow renewal ceremonies and what I’ve found most powerful is that the ceremony both celebrates the journey of the partnership while also providing an opportunity for an expression of new commitments that meet the evolving needs of the people involved. People change, and so do their circumstances. The vow renewal allows us to face those changes with new and creative ways to share our love and service to one another.