it’s already the second day of June and I’m just getting to my monthly blog posting…as I have been immersed in my first grandson’s wedding that took place on Saturday, May 27th. I officiated at the ceremony and prepared the young couple on a daylong retreat weeks before! Their “story” is charged with generosity and courage as they are beginning their married lives while raising the bride’s step-siblings, which she accepted to do when both her Mom and stepfather passed away. The ceremony, their “story,” the absolutely gorgeous day we had in an old orchard, leaves me reflecting on the notion and gift of faithfulness.

For a definition of the word, we are given phrases packed with meaning; “steadfast in allegiance or affection,” “firm in adherence to promises,” “given with strong assurance,” “true to the facts…or to an original.” On Saturday, in my reflection after the readings, I alluded to how so many of us feel on our wedding day: “No one has been in love like us!” “Some cannot be faithful to their promises and life sends difficulties they can’t overcome…but WE will!! “We have what it takes!”

What DOES it take to be faithful? Well, it takes serious commitment, and as I told them that day, it takes listening to each other, remembering what made them fall in love in the first place, and always reaching out for the guidance and support of friends and family. Faithfulness is probably God’s #1 quality!! So asking God to give us what we need to be faithful to our promises wouldn’t hurt either! God’s tender mercy, Lamentations tells us, is renewed every morning! Don’t we have awesome evidence of this all around us? June itself is proof that God set the seasons in place…has there ever been a June where the first day of summer did not occur? For God, being faithful is being constant, steady, firm, true to the Original Blessing of creation. Asking God for that same steadfastness is wise advice for a newly married couple, and for human beings at any stage of their lives.

I am thankful at the beginning of this glorious month of profuse flowers and the renewal of greenness! I am thankful for God’s faithfulness, for the faithfulness of the moon cycles, the changing seasons, how one generation slips into another, the faithfulness of people who teach year after year, who work in the medical field, who labor to provide our food, fuel, basic necessities. Faithfulness is observed by all who take vows in married life or in ministry. It is so evident in the lives of farmers and all those entrusted with the care of land and animals. Parents and children strive to be faithful to each other’s principles and their dreams.

Pause at the beginning of this month of June, and give thanks with me for the gift of faithfulness in our world. Pray for all those who make promises and try so hard to keep them! Happy June!!