Something Beautiful

I believe that the love between a husband and wife should be like no other.  It should be a safe place where you can completely let go and let all of your guards down.  It should be a place where your beauty shines like no other and all of your imperfections diminish because of their irrelevancy.  It should be a place where you find yourself happiest because you are your true self and you are at home.  And for all of those reasons, it is a place where you constantly want to evolve, to change and to grow so that you can continue to give back to your love what they are giving to you… Joy.  Bliss.  Happiness. 

When William and Kate got married last year, I didn't wake up early to watch it.  I didn't DVR it.  But, I did turn on the television as I got ready for work and I did so at the most perfect of moments, the sermon.  I say that not because I am a religious person.  I am not committed to a particular religion, but I do believe.  I believe that there is a higher presence.  I believe there is something... more.

I found the sermon to be something absolutely beautiful. It captured the essence of what makes a marriage truly intimate and profound and I believe that had it not have had a spiritual presence, the words wouldn't have been as powerful.

This link will take you directly to the full sermon given by the Bishop of London if you are so inclined to read it entirely.  However, I just want to post some of the words that I found to be most beautiful.

• "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves. 
• A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. 
• In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life. It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. And people can dream of doing such a thing but the hope should be fulfilled it is necessary a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love. 
• Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. 
• As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light.
  This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace. 

Regardless of your religious beliefs or lack thereof, I hope that you can find the beauty in these words.  More importantly, I hope that you can find the beauty in the person with whom you have chosen to share your life with.