Saturday, March 07, 2009

"make Thou this marriage to be as threading lights of Thine abounding grace..."

the first week of our new marriage has been very sweet. we decided to begin our marriage during the Baha'i month of fasting (March 2-21) so that we could try to establish habits of prayer and meditation as integral to our family life from the very beginning.

my favorite pictures from the wedding are around the lovely wedding cake (carrot cake with cream cheese icing--delicious!!).

One picture in particular delights me because, just by chance,
it is almost a replica of my favorite picture from my parents' wedding that I have hanging on my wall.




I wore the jacket my mother wore at her wedding. I had it slightly altered.



"From the pairing of even the smallest particles in the world of being are the grace and bounty of God made manifest; and the higher the degree, the more momentous is the union. 'Glory be to Him Who hath created all the pairs, of such things as earth produceth, and out of men themselves, and of things beyond their ken.'[1]
And above all other unions is that between human beings, especially when it cometh to pass in the love of God. Thus is the primal oneness made to appear; thus is laid the foundation of love in the spirit. It is certain that such a marriage as yours will cause the bestowals of God to be revealed. Wherefore do we offer you felicitations and call down blessings upon you and beg of the Blessed Beauty, through His aid and favour, to make that wedding feast a joy to all and adorn it with the harmony of Heaven.

[1 Qur'án 36:36, and cf. 51:49]

O my Lord, O my Lord! These two bright orbs are wedded in Thy love, conjoined in servitude to Thy Holy Threshold, united in ministering to Thy Cause. Make Thou this marriage to be as threading lights of Thine abounding grace, O my Lord, the All-Merciful, and luminous rays of Thy bestowals, O Thou the Beneficent, the Ever-Giving, that there may branch out from this great tree boughs that will grow green and flourishing through the gifts that rain down from Thy clouds of grace.

Verily Thou art the Generous, verily Thou art the Almighty, verily Thou art the Compassionate, the All-Merciful."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 119)

2 Comments:

Blogger Phillipe Copeland said...

Congrats. I had no idea. Welcome to the fortress for well-being and salvation.

7:30 AM, March 08, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

At first, there was no way that there could be a Dannells' in-person presence at your wedding. But then we thought how close (relatively speaking) is DC, where my daughter lives, from Philly. Then we thought of how easily some people travel across country, especially in this era of cheap(er) tickets. At first, it wasn't possible for Ruhiyyih. And then it was. And then we made plans for me to fly. And then when the date got closer, we thought that Bonita would be able to come, too. And then at last minute ... none of us could come. Such a disappointment.

The two pictures, of you and Ram and of your mother and father, are such a lovely juxtaposition of images.

We are thrilled for you.

I still have the music as our gift, which I must mail off to you finally.

All the best to you during this special time and in the months and years ahead. You are a dear friend of our family.

12:30 PM, March 16, 2009  

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