Meet My Wonderful Wife Bonna "She Who Must Be Obeyed" 03

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The Wedding of Dan Ross and Bonna (Zindler) Ross

Pilgrim's Prayer
International Staff Band

Lyrics

Saviour draw thou near to bless us,
Bind our hearts to Thee, we pray,
Grant us, Lord, Thy stedfast purpose,
Keep us on the pilgrim way,

All our road is not in darkness,
Walking, Lord, where Thou hast trod,
For the imprint of Thy footstep
Blessing with the Love of God.

Lone may be our pilgrim journey,
Stern the path before us set,
But the Glory of the passing
Lingers by the wayside yet.

So for the triumph of Thy way we praise thee,
Thou who hast known temptation,
Counted it joy our souls to ransom,
Suffered and died for our Salvation,

Teach us the secret of Thy strong enduring
On to the journey's end.
Bring us at length with songs to Zion,
where everlasting praises blend.

Master by thy toils inspire us,
walk with us earth's road of pain,
Let thy Spirit flame within us,
Christ in us be formed again.

This is one of my all time Salvation Army favorites. I first heard this as a member of in the Seattle Citadel Songster Brigade. Later, when I got a chance to lead the band, we played this transcription. Bonna didn't think this was much of a wedding song, but I think it is a perfect wedding song. It worked for me then and it still works for me now, especially when one considers all of the scriptures on the duties of spouses and the church being the bride of Christ.

Our wedding was atypical. We were wed in a Salvation Army Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. We were also married in The Salvation Army Uniform. These kind of weddings are actually fairly rare. Most of Bonna's adult friends were officers in The Salvation Army or soldiers at the Waco Corps or the Fort Worth Corps. When Bonna told me that I would be allowed to participate in the wedding planning by memorizing my vows, making the final decision on the invitations style and picking one wedding song for Major Lanier to sing, there was only one song that I could have chosen. When I told Bonna what song I wanted she said, "That's not a wedding song." I said, "It's the only song I would pick, look at the words." She looked at the words and said, "OK." Every time we told someone what song we wanted, they would say, "That's not a wedding song." I would reply, "It's my wedding song." I viewed marriage as a pilgrimage. Something that would last "'til death do us part." A road with a beginning and an end. The end is heaven. The road may be rough, but it pretty much depended on our faithfulness to each other and to God. When I asked Bonna a few days ago what she remembered about our wedding, she said, "Not much."

I, on the other hand, remember it very well. I especially remember one thing above all others: The song I chose for Major Lanier to sing. It's one of the things that kept me married to a strong willed "capable woman" even when times were rough. The song you are hearing, The Pilgim's Prayer, is the song I chose for our wedding.

We sang this song frequently in the Seattle Citadel Corps Songster Brigade. It was one of my all time favorites. We even played it as an instrumental in the Seattle Citadel Corps Band.