Celebrating My Valentine

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Today I am remembering how God brought Ann into my life. We celebrated our first Valentines Day 21 years ago today. It was the day that I asked her to be my wife and we became engaged to be married. In many ways Ann was nothing like what I expected in a woman but in every way she was exactly the woman of my dreams. Our courtship was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I experienced levels of joy that had escaped me for so long. Ann made me feel so young and alive. I had such little understanding of how much of a blessing she would be. Over the years I have seen her exhibit amazing perseverance. It is humbling to witness how she deals with disability.

You know it was funny how Ann and I met all over again. We had been acquainted for almost 20 years but had not seen each other for about five years. One day we, by chance, ran into each other in front of The Dime Store in Kansas City where she was shopping and I was just happening by. I wrote this poem at the onset of our courtship.


Love at Second Sight

What drew me to her I do not know.
Spirit? Soul? Flesh? A mystery to me still.
On that day I saw her again ... for the very first time.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

That day was bright ... my heart was dark.
Her skin was fair ... my soul was heavy.
A spark ignited and my spirit soared.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

The summer passed and fall had come.
My mind wandered still to that that day in June,
When my heart was touched by her lovely smile.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

As grief passed and courage grew,
I saw her again and then I knew ...
That my heart longed to know her heart.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

Mourning exchanged for joy.
Loneliness turned into happiness.
Feelings I can neither explain nor express.
Could this be love ... at second sight?

Time goes on and passion grows.
Where we'll go ... who really knows.
My heart and my mind yet question still ...
Could this be love ... at second sight?
I echo the words of that poem today. Ann brings me such joy! God has blessed me with a wife that is a servant in the best sense of serving. A woman who's inner beauty and integrity are matchless. A woman who loves God.

Just call me blessed!

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