Anniversary

by

We Said

Hang on to your hat
as time rushes by.
The days crawl along
but the years, they do fly.
A long time ago,
seems like just yesterday.
We stood in a church
and “I do”, we did say.

We had each other,
what more could we ask.
At that moment in time,
there was no greater task.
But what did we know,
could we see ahead?
To the days filled with joy,
and the ones filled with dread?

We pinched every nickel,
and squeezed every dime.
As we started our life
with a steep uphill climb.
But climb it we did,
and continue to do.
Until we reach the top,
for a heavenly view.

There are things we did wrong,
and a few we did right.
But when God looks at us,
I hope He’s pleased with the sight.
The future’s not promised,
though we plan and we dream.
And nothing can stop us
when we work as a team.

The hurdles behind us
are more than a few.
Sometimes we tripped over them,
sometimes barreled through.
I would guess they’re not over,
there are more up ahead.
But we’ll face them together,
because that’s what we said!

© 2017 by Tom Lemler

Promises don’t always mean a lot to many people in our world today, so some find it remarkable that any marriage lasts for very long — or the ones that do, must have somehow been easy and avoided all the difficulties that can make marriage hard.  As I think this week about being married and muddling my way through so many difficult circumstances, this poem showed up in my mind as a reminder that we got through those circumstances together as we both honored our commitment to God and to what we said, “I do” — no “I might” or “I’ll think about it” or “I’ll try”, just a simple but profound “I Do!”.  So, as the 36th anniversary of our wedding day approaches, Happy Anniversary to the love of my life!  

In prayer,
Tom

 

by

Riding Together

This journey of life
can be quite a ride.
Made better or worse
by who’s by your side.
The road’s always changing,
and detours abound.
The person beside you,
changes what can be found.

But before you look back
on the years of your life.
And blame the person beside you
for all of your strife.
There was another
along for the ride.
And sometimes the problem
is the person inside.

It is far too easy
to look in the next seat.
When our gaze ought to focus
on our very own feet.
The path that we’ve taken
was ours to decide.
Who did we choose
to go along for the ride?

There is another,
we can’t see with our eye.
But he rides along with us,
between you and I.
He makes all the difference
for good or for bad.
Depending on our choice,
on which rider we had.

The One who is peaceful,
and loving and kind.
Is the rider between us
that you ought to find.
I can tell you for certain,
what a difference it makes.
When you ride with Jesus
on every road that you take!

So, as I look back
on this up and down ride.
I am very thankful
for who’s by my side.
A wife who has loved me
through paved road and sand.
And a Savior who guides us
when things aren’t quite as planned!

© 2017 by Tom Lemler

Anniversaries can be a time of reflection and my 36th wedding anniversary is this week.  As I’ve spent time reflecting recently, this poem came out of my prayer time.  In our married life we have definitely been on roads of every kind imaginable — both literally and figuratively.  It is by keeping Jesus in the midst of our journey that we’ve been able to discover peace, joy, and beauty even on roads that have been filled with potholes, mud puddles, or were simply dirt paths through the wilderness.  So, as the 36th anniversary of our wedding day approaches, Happy Anniversary to the love of my life!  

In prayer,
Tom

 

by

Do You Remember (The Twenty-First Night of September)

My mind does forget things,
     some say I am old.
Some things I recall
     when finally I’m told.
But there are some days
     that I do remember.
Like the twenty-first day
     of the month of September.

Nineteen seventy-nine
     was quite a year.
A girl did like me
     in spite of my fear.
Someone showed interest,
     that really was great.
September twenty-first
     was our first real date!

In order to drive,
     back in that day.
You had to be sixteen,
     a month, and a day.
So after my birthday
     in August that year.
I waited the month,
     then let out a cheer!

The very next day,
     I did what made sense.
I went to the Bureau
     and got my license!
That very evening,
     I picked up my date.
We went out for pizza,
     it probably got late.

Fast-forward two years
     to nineteen eighty-one.
I had dated no others,
     this was the one!
I was quite smitten,
     there was no need to wait.
So we planned our own wedding
     and chose a good date!

Exactly two years
     after that first date.
Our wedding took place,
     we each had a help-mate!
While many did wonder
     if it really would last.
I look back amazed
     at the years that have passed.

They’ve not all been easy,
     some have been quite hard.
But we’ve been protected
     by an Almighty Guard!
The thirty-three years
     that we have been wed.
Are just the beginning
     unless I end up dead!  🙂

My mind continues to be filled again with rhyming lines that seem to be all jumbled up for some reason. Anyhow, as I was working through a sermon and reflecting on our anniversary day, these lines seemed to come out of the pile.

In prayer,
Tom Lemler