WAVES AND SHADOWS July 14, 2024

"He leads me beside the still waters, He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake." Psalm 23:1-2 NKJV

TEN DAYS OF THINGS I GAINED, LEARNED, AND REMEMBER

November 16, 2021

Day 9

March 29, 1973

Our wedding day. There was no way I was going to let you out of my sight that day. Someone needed to be your guardian angel, and that someone was me.  We spent the afternoon running last-minute errands. If we heard "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" by Tony Orlando and Dawn one time that day, we must have heard it on your pickup radio 50 times. 

I gained an unforgettable afternoon of memories including "Tie a Yellow Ribbon." I think I learned the lyrics well enough to actually sing them backward, and I remember trying to keep my nerves at bay. Having you at my side that afternoon surely must have helped.

November 17, 2021

Day 10

March 29, 1973, Exchange Avenue Baptist Church

Our wedding was simple, but beautiful. I couldn't have asked for more. You had to be the most handsome groom ever as you waited for me to join you at the altar, then when you escorted me back down the aisle as your wife. The day I dreamed about for as long as I could remember. My prayers for God's choice for my husband had been answered. 

The Lord knew our marriage would last exactly 48 years, 5 months and 11 days. 

The best years of my life, filled with special times, challenges, growing pains, and more answered prayers that brought two beautiful daughters who would teach us more about life than we would ever have learned without them. Together, we would see our family grow to sons-in-law, four grandsons and one granddaughter. I'm so thankful you got to enjoy them as long as you did. Your pride as you watched them grow and in knowing who they would become as young adults must still be growing. They have so many of your amazing qualities.

My prayer is to make you proud of me as I try to carry on in this world I never would have asked for - a world without you at my side. 

I gained a lifetime of being a wife, mother, and grandmother. I learned through every trial and every blessing we shared, and I'll remember you, the unforgettable husband who gave me a life filled with my two greatest desires - being a wife and a mother (and now a grandmother). I could never ask for more.

*****

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the rest. For the sleep I've fought most of my life. I won't look back today. Your mercies are new each day. I want to honor that.

"Peace that passes understanding, down in my heart." That special place You reserved for our emotions and our deepest love. My love for You. My love for the amazing man who is now in Your presence. I'll carry it very carefully. Today. Everyday. Along with the hope I have in Jesus.

God, You are good because You give us the capacity to remember and to carry our loved ones close through those memories. You determine our days and let us live each one without that end in sight so we can enjoy life in the moment. You prepare us in ways we don't recognize for the things that are coming, yet we never want to think about.