Written by Fran Esposito
As a Wedding Coordinator here at Ascension, I am blessed to work with engaged couples as they embark on the sacrament of marriage and mark the beginning of their life’s journey together.
Four years ago my husband Joe passed away, five months shy of our 50th Anniversary. As I write this I can hear his jovial voice teasingly blurting out that it felt like more than 50 years! All humor aside, both Joe and I know that those 49.7 years felt both like an eternity – as we were as close as two people can possibly be, and like a flash – because the years move so quickly leaving us longing for more time together!
We were blessed to share a life filled with love, faith, humor, laughter, and joy. Despite any hard times that we endured, joy and love are truly what sum up our lifetime together.
“God is Love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 John 4:16).
This is how Joe and I tried to live our married life. We strove to serve the other as Christ did; we tried to always see Christ in the other; and we attempted to emulate the love of Christ in our marriage and family.
With each wedding that I am blessed to assist with, I strive to bring that same joy and love of Christ to the bride and groom as well as to their families.
My Prayer for each and every couple is that they will live by the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Every day, despite life’s challenges, that they might recall that “love is patient; love is kind” (v. 4), and that they place their faith in our Lord, living the greatest virtue: Love, and “love never fails” (v. 8).
If you would like to know more about the Marriage Preparation process at Church of the Ascension, you can find comprehensive, step by step information here.