Happy Anniversary To The Man I Love

He was a man who was not friendly with technology. Slowly he came around to it and this picture is proof. It is his one and only selfie!  It is now a picture that is worth more than money could ever buy. He loved to fish and this was his happy place as you can see by his clear and effervescent expression. He drove to his secret fishing hole on this day, a day he needed to reel in life. It didn't take him long to hook joy on the end of his pole. And He pulled his iPhone 5s out of his pocket to record it. I've often wondered what gave him the thought. He was completely alone and in his element. No one around to say, "Hey, you should take a selfie." I surmise that hanging out with Goose and Des at work or the times he spent with his family, being forced into many a selfie group shot brought the idea round. Perhaps the thought miraculously occurred to him when he pulled his phone out to record the stunning view. Or then again, maybe it was God and all his wisdom that gave him the inkling. I'm sure God knew we would need a picture like this to sustain us in the days ahead. I know it sustains me when the tears won't stop, when sleep won't come, and in desperate moments when I need to remember just how good life was with him. One thing is for certain, it's one of the most beautiful pictures ever taken and even more so because he took it.

Today marks 39 years with this man. Some might argue the statement, "We are still together." Distraught souls who know nothing of life or death and have never tasted love that transcends time and all space might dispute the notion. Yet, I believe only a shallow small mind would wager anti sentiments about defining our togetherness. We have never been closer than we are now. We are one in all things. And while we might celebrate differently, the celebration is no less deep and meaningful. He is with me always, this I know.  Each day my memories grow sweeter. I remember taking his hand in the temple just before we walked into the sealing room. His hand was cold, he was nervous. .  . my hand was hot, I was excited. I had been alone for so much of my life and I was filled with immense joy at the thought of being completely safe with a person and permanently loved. The first quality I noticed when I met this man was his supreme kindness. It drew me in and held me tight. My soul had never felt so at home with anyone.  And so it feels today, no different than in the beginning when love seared our souls together forever.

Today is a day when I count the ultimate blessing in my life, the day he and I knelt across an alter of the Lord and sealed our love forever. It is a day that marks the beginning, the eternal, and what will never end! Death cannot touch our joy. Death has no power over our love. It governs nothing in the realm of what matters most. It cannot rob me of what is to come and my reward for enduring this grueling trial. He is mine and I am his and like the song that David sang, "For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

I love you "G," Happy Anniversary Honey!  And remember this...

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth lives forever in my body

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

(Sonnet Xvii ~ Pablo Neruda)