“So dae ye,” she replied with a small laugh. “But then again, ye always dae.”
“The pastor refused to perform a wedding but is willing to do a handfasting for us. We can have a public wedding once we tell our families. Will that be alright with you?”
“Anything where I get to be with ye is more than alright, Ronin,” Edna replied happily.
He laughed at her remark.The mere presence of her beside him was enough to make him forget about everything else. She brightened his day and blessed his life. When she was beside him, the prospect of the future did not frighten him, and he knew that they could overcome any difficulty together.
“Pastor, thank ye. I will never be able to repay ye,” Edna said as she turned to look at the old man.
“Edna, I have watched ye grow from a heartbroken little girl to a kind, sensitive woman. Ronin has told me about the love ye have found in each other. I know there is no one more deserving of love than ye, and I hope that as the two of ye support each other through all. I want ye to promise me that ye will tell yer mothers as soon as possible,” the pastor said to her.
“If my mother is feeling well enough tonight, I will tell her today. As for Mara, we will tell her very soon too. I promise ye,” Edna assured the pastor with a smile.
“I need ye both tae stand right here in front of me and hold out yer hands,” the pastor said. He took their hands and brought them together, then tied a cord around them.
“This cord represents the marital bond. As yer hands are bound together this day, so are yer hearts. This bond is strong enough tae hold ye together during times of great struggle.”
“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
“These verses from Ecclesiastes explain the need for a partner in life. Are ye two sure ye need each other in this way?”
“We are,” Edna and Ronin replied unhesitatingly; staring into one another’s eyes as they held each other’s hands.
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church” for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” The pastor paused. “These verses explain the roles of both husband and wife in a relationship. Dae ye two promise to abide by them at all times?”
“We do,” they said once again; smiling at one another.
“If that is the case, ye two can recite yer own vows if ye wish tae,” the pastor asked.
“I would like to recite a verse. That will be my vow. Can I?” Edna questioned looking at the pastor.
“Of course, my child.”
“Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,