Our relationship
Has its ups,
Its downs,
But if I were to flip
Through photographs
Of You
And me,
There would be no frowns.

I called on You many times,
Left long, lengthy voicemails.
And You always returned them,
Leaving messages,
And I,
Overlooking,
Failed
To receive them
Until now.

Thanks to
Jesus
For giving You my messages,
Forgiving my tone of voice.
Thank You
For hearing my pleas
And choosing to
Disregard
My curses,
My blunders,
My Job-like accusations.
It was when I found myself
Separated from You
That I realized,
You’ve been with me
Through this whole
Journey.

You’ve given me a Book
To let me know that I am
Forever
Written in
Yours,
That my Savior
Has my name
In the scars on His hands
In the imprint of His heart.


When the phone stops ringing,
Your personal message
Lovingly
Directs
Me
To take out the scrapbook and
Reflect,
To look at our photos,
You and I
Smiling,
Read Your
Word,
Soak in every
Beautiful
Phrase.
And be
Glad,
Rejoice!
For I am Yours.
And You will come back to me
Soon.
You’ve taken out the downs,
With One
Eternal
Up.
Grace.

I’ll make my bed
If we can mess it up later.
I’d rather you and I be tangled up in the sheets
Than I neatly tucked in without you.

I want to touch you
Like pen to paper,
Making love
Like calligraphy.

Tell me all your secrets,
All your mysteries.
What is going on
Behind your furrowed brows,
Behind your eyes,
Watching me so lovingly?
What are you thinking?

You sprinkle me with kisses.
I taste your sweet tongue.
Our lashes dance together.
Cheek to cheek,
We embrace each other.
We're so close,
But I want to be nearer.

You’ve given me your heart,
But the words written upon it
Are foreign to me.
Read to me
My friend,
My lover,
My hero.
I want to know all of you.

I see your future in my neighbor,
The lanky older gent,
Whose smile as he walks on by
Is nothing less than heaven-sent.

I see him walking on our road,
Towering over is little wife,
Her arms are pumping,
And he is waving,
Beckoning me
Look
At our later life.

I had always wondered
Why his lady was so sour,
Eyes stuck on the street
Just continuing her saunter.

This was before I knew
Dementia ailed her,
But her man is persistent
In making memories
Into their future.

The first time I saw him frown
Was when they were apart.
Never had I seen one without the other,
Their love,
Enduring art.

He’s faithful,
Loving,
Caring,
Kind,
And she will keep forgetting
All he does for her
Until she reaches the other side.

I want to believe that our life together
Will come without pain,
Without suffering,
But my neighbor
Down our lane
Shows me
It doesn’t matter,
The strife we encounter,
As long as we’re together.

You’ll watch over me.
I’ll take care of you.
No matter what comes our way,
This love is here to stay.

As children in my playhouse,
You climbed and crawled around me.
I did not retain much
Except your joyful,
Distant
Playing.

I remember your great swing set.
You bring to mind my violin.
Regardless of few memories,
You were wildly
Within.

My small hands gripped toys.
Yours pushed off floor and wall.
I was invisible to you then
And your budding
Attention span.

Your eyes darted to and fro
And curls bounced up and down.
Nothing held your attention long
Except your untamed
Singsong.

Fast-forward to the present,
Over a decade later.
We’re laughing uncontrollably,
Dancing through
Hose water.

I was scrubbing my car’s hood.
You were rinsing the passenger door,
Both of us
Occupied
As we’d been
Before.

Your chin rose from the stream.
My arm circles slowed.
Our eyes locked,
And time stood still,
Child’s play
Revoked.

I was nothing to you,
Then I disappeared.
Years brought us maturity.
And reconnection,
Love.

I run through Your meadows,
Climb up Your trees.
Is it that I'm chasing You?
Or are You chasing me?

I trip on my journey,
You're the moss between rock and knee.
I reach too high,
You're the branch underneath.
I'm running to or from Your mercy,
But it's all around me.

You command oceans to rise,
Direct lightning where to strike.
How can You be the same God Who gives grace,
The same God Who sets free?

I've been running so hard,
But the race finished long ago.
Thank You for stilling my feet,
So I can stand here and know
That Christ is sufficient for me.