Forty-two years ago, this month, a miracle began in my life. A lovely, intelligent, and gifted young lady became my wife. Just prior to our wedding, I wrote the following poem called the Treasure Chamber.
The Treasure Chamber
By Al Vester
The ruddy glow of life ran from the ruby walls
Into the swirling darkness of the outer entrance hall.
A tune is singing softly, a pure and simple call,
To beckon someone worthy to come within the hall.
Come, behold the treasures earned by years of work
Of faith, integrity, honor, and courage not to shirk.
For within this ruby hall with ivory beams over-bending,
Resides a heart that’s filled with hope, a soul that needs befriending.
Come my bride, my joy and life, open doors to exaltation;
Come within and be my wife by a priesthood coronation.
God’s the one who lit this chamber, built its throne and made its treasure.
All that’s good is His and mine, and now through Him it shall be thine.
Why choose marriage?
It always seems miraculous to me that women can and do put up with men. Most women are softer, gentler, and more emotionally connected with the world around us. Meanwhile, men tend to be hairier, rougher, and more focused on single tasks or problems at a time. Yet, throughout the history of humans, a married couple has been the foundation of growth and stability in every society.
The true covenant and commitment in marriage between a man and a woman is the life long promise to love and support each other no matter what else happens during their life on earth. This type of commitment provides a solid foundation in which children can grow and develop into normal, responsible adults. The commitment of marriage links two individuals into a working team who support each other through diapers and dishes, through broken bones and braces, through tuitions and tests of every kind. Such commitment sustains the love between husband and wife long after the children have grown and started families of their own.
Even without considering the birth and rearing of children as an important part of marriage, men and women are complimentary in so many ways that one can not truly be complete without the other. All other types of unions are deadends biologically, morally, and socially. The welding together of two individuals with different physical and emotional attributes creates a team that has the strengths of both and the ability to compensate for the weaknesses of either. I have learned greater compassion and empathy for others from my wife and she has gained problem-solving skills from me (mostly by solving the problems that I have created for her).
Our children are the precious fruits of our union. We count them to be our greatest blessings. Additionally, because of the child-rearing challenges we have faced together, we have grown as individuals and closer together as a team. Obviously, without our children we could have never known the joy of being grandparents and feeling the love of our grandchildren for us and us for them. Only in the loving relationship of marriage between a man and a woman can future generations find a firm foundation on which to build a stable society.
Now after forty-two years of marriage, I count myself as one of the luckiest men alive to have such a faithful and devoted wife, to whom I have given all my love.
