04/08/2026
“ To Love and to hold from this day forward “
Do couples or people really mean the vows they make during the wedding ceremony? Another question is do people really understand what promises they are making as they are getting married? Do couples own the words and promises as their own and not just to fulfill the ceremony requirements.
I made these promises to my wife and I’m asking myself these questions 11 years later.
I have decided to break down and explain the marriage vows and break them down bit by bit, today I start with “ To love and hold from this day forward “
We live in the world of ever changing things, there are new trends everyday! We don’t hold the same things for a long time.
For example I needed an iPhone 11 Pro one time, when I discovered how iPhone 12 Pro is better, my mind shifted to wanting it and finally I decided to get iPhone 14 Pro the time I was about to buy it I saw iPhone 15 Pro and decided to get it, what actually stopped me from getting iPhone 17 is lack of money. I don’t want to hold on to iPhone 15 Pro for a long time, my heart wants the latest gadget on the market. I’m not even thinking of starting to fix it if it develops a problem, I just want to change it to a better one.
Back to the topic, when you make a promise or when you made the promise “to love and to hold” this is what you meant;
“To hold” means to cherish, protect, comfort, and remain devoted to your spouse. It signifies embracing one another emotionally, spiritually, and physically within the covenant of marriage. It also conveys the idea of standing by your spouse, offering security, affection, and companionship.
If you have issues you talk about and fix them, you hold on to your spouse and help to develop them, you don’t change marriage partner just because they is something you have discovered that you don’t like, you improve them and yourself together.
For me “to love and hold” means you don’t change your spouse to another “better version” you remain committed to that person in all circumstances of life.
Before you say I do, make sure you are with someone who is stable, has chosen you and will not move to another person just because of simple misunderstanding or their own lust.
Someone said if you leave someone just because they lack 20% of the qualities you need in a spouse, you will find that 20% in another if you cheat but lose the 80% you had in your marriage partner.
After pondering on these words they mean so much to me whether I understood them that day I made the promises or merely repeated them is the subject for another day, going forward I want to live these words more!
Share your thoughts…
Next I talk about “for better for worse”