Remember that you don’t have to face life alone

THIS summer I had the privilege of conducting the wedding of our youngest daughter and her fiancé in a lovely ancient stone church as they embarked on the exciting newness of married life together. It was a joyous occasion!

However, it turned out that it was not only the wedding couple who were doing a new thing but also a number of the congregation, for this was the first time they had attended a wedding in church.

They were surprised that they enjoyed it and how much it had touched them as they witnessed a young couple standing on holy ground and making a commitment to each other in God’s presence, with friends and family.

Our ancient stone churches will have seen many weddings down the centuries and I am convinced that people notice their prayer-soaked walls as they meet in those holy places.

There is also something deeply inspiring about making a commitment publicly and part of the wedding service includes words reminding us that marriage strengthens and enriches society.

And there is a wonderful selection of readings from the Bible that illustrate love, faithfulness and commitment.

However, the Bible is not the only place where we read about faithfulness and commitment, we can discover it in so many other areas.

I recently discovered a different kind of commitment in reading the book by Brian Keenan and John MacCarthy — Between Extremes.

Brian and John were held captive together in Beirut in the Eighties for more than four years. The conditions were harsh, desolate. Cut off from the world, they learned to support each other, to look out for each other, not knowing how long their imprisonment would last or if, indeed, that would ever be released.

One way they coped was to go on an imaginary journey, walking together through the heights of the Andes and then south to Patagonia where they planned a fictional yak farm.

Five years after their release Brian and John, who had met in extreme adversity and become friends, took that trip together. They spent time travelling through Chile along the Andes, sometimes on horseback, and southwards to Patagonia.

Following their imaginary route, they found themselves once again in desolate places, yet still finding themselves looking out for each other in their own ways, committing to their friendship.

I wonder where we find ourselves on the journey of life in our commitment to others? Do those commitments take us to joyous places or to adversity, or somewhere between the two extremes?

If we are doing a new thing in making fresh commitments this September, or simply renewing old ones, the words of the marriage service can remind us that — whether married or not — we do not have to make any of these commitments alone.

Rather like a ring, God’s unending love and faithfulness encircles us, enfolding us from one extreme of a situation to another and we, in turn, are blessing and enriching society.

Rev Sue Morton, associate priest, Hambleden Valley Group of Churches