Cherish

I was reading a book recently in which God stopped a young man in his tracks shortly after his marriage with a reminder that among his vows he had promised to "cherish" his wife. This young man looked up the word in the dictionary, and was astonished to discover the real, full meaning of this word. Frankly, so was I.

When traditional vows are exchanged, they often go like this:

"I take you (name), to be my wedded (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part…”

This word, cherish, is found in the vows of both the husband- and wife-to-be. I wondered about the origin, and with a little research discovered that it dates back to the Church of England's Anglican Book of Common Prayer ... written in 1662.

I'm sort of astounded that these words, with few changes, have been repeated at weddings for more than three centuries. I guess they have stood the test of time!

So, now that I have convinced myself that this is not either an archaic or a short-term piece of the solemn vows entered into during the inauguration of this covenant of marriage, here is Webster's definition of the word cherish:

To hold dear, feel or show affection for; to keep or cultivate with care and affection: NURTURE.

American Heritage's definition: To treat with affection and tenderness.

Synonyms include prize, treasure and value.

I'm pretty sure that during our wedding ceremony my husband and I promised that we would cherish each other. And I'm really sure I didn't understand what that promise meant. So today I renew my vow, before God (and the readers of this blog :), to "cherish" my husband from this day forward, 'til death do us part.