It's a phrase from our wedding vows, words we recited to each other in a stately Atlanta sanctuary seventeen years ago.
My wife repeats that phrase when we're going through challenging times. It's part of our shorthand, a way to remind each other that, despite whatever we're facing at the moment, we commit ourselves and our futures to each other.
Those words have power for us.
Love is a funny thing. It settles on you easily and lightly, a sunbeam breaking through a gap in the clouds. It lifts your spirits to soaring heights.
Love that lasts a lifetime: now that's something more. It's a culmination of shared history and caring. It's a bold statement that, because of that history and sometimes despite it, we choose to go forward hand-in-hand... regardless of what lies ahead.
Life has been challenging this past year and a half, with health concerns on my part that have us taking regular trips to the cancer center in Seattle. We're now in the midst of a flood of chemo that will require us to be there for each of the next 42 days.
As we prepared to leave our home town for this trip, a dear friend came by our house to wish us well. She's tiny and white-haired and a generation ahead of us. She has the wisdom of someone who's been through much. And she reminded us of a line from a great old hymn:
"Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow."
That simple phrase sums up a lot for us right now.
Words have power. Power enough, sometimes, to see us through the night, with calm hearts and eyes resting easily on the horizon of a new day.
On the best of our days, the journey itself is enough.
ReplyDeleteThat is true. And I like those words. Thanks, Morgan.
DeleteThat's that magic, right there.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Edward!
DeleteThat's a really beautiful post :-)
ReplyDelete