Remembering what we’re prone to forget

There is a movie called “The Vow”
that helps you understand the how
of making love stand up to loss
when life comes crashing down.

When you’ve forgotten what you pledged
(and once-felt feelings can’t be dredged),
you have a choice of what to do
and what you choose is key.

Amnesia is a dreaded curse
but it (with time) can be reversed
if day-by-day you reenact
what won the other’s heart.

And if you do, you will recall
the blessed wonder of it all
Two people joined as one for good
no matter if life’s bad.

* Actually, the plot of “The Vow” deals with the true-life events of the Kim and Krickett Carpenter and the resulting dementia that Krickett experienced after a car accident. What I am attempting to address in this poem is the tendency many couples have to forget what they promised their mate at the front of a church on their wedding day. Admittedly, that’s a different kind of memory loss, but a damanging kind of forgetfulness nonetheless. Gratefully, marriages that experience “dementia by inattention” can be restored through reprogramming daily behavior and choosing to act lovingly (even when romantic feelings are dormant).

** The plot of the movie is best explained by going to the following website:
http://blogcritics.org/books/article/interview-with-kim-and-krickitt-carpenter3/

A Valentine’s Day requiem;
Remembering Whitney Houston

Because Your Love is Gone
A Valentine’s Day requiem

Your Valentine has passed away
and come that very special day
there are no flowers or a card
because your love is gone.

That day when Cupid shoots his darts
while taking aim at couples’ hearts,
your breaking heart just aches and bleeds
because your love is gone.

Those picnics in the park are past.
And bedtime chats you thought would last
are only longed-for memories
because your love is gone.

No box of chocolates anymore
or walks at dusk along the shore.
This day for lovers leaves you flat
because your love is gone.

That’s why I said a prayer for you
and told the Lord you’re feeling blue
and need the warmth of His embrace
because your love is gone.

And then I think I heard Him say
on Valentine’s (and every day),
“I hold the grieving in my heart
because their love is gone.”

* This poem it dedicated to all those who are facing their first Valentine’s Day after losing their mate to death. It was inspired by my mother’s grief, Even though she was married to my dad just shy of fifty-eight years when he died three years ago, she continues to pine for her handsome prince.

Remembering Whitney Houston
A tribute to “The Preacher’s Wife”

A gifted girl who had it all.
A winsome beauty standing tall.
A giant voice that dwarfed the rest
while teaching rock to roll.

We knew her as “The Preacher’s Wife.”
But Whitney’s life was marked by strife
and riddled by the wrath of drugs
and demons she denied.

So on this day “The Grammys” reign
(as we recall the singer’s pain),
let’s pray that Whitney left this world
while clinging to God’s grace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcjP4LgW0Rw

When the power goes out (and worse)

When Mother Nature’s winds blew strong,
they toppled trees. It seemed so wrong.
They stole our power, sapped our strength
and rendered us in need.

But God our Father calms the storm
the day we die or when we’re born.
When we’re afraid, He calms our fears
and whispers “Peace! Be still!”

Amazingly, He gives us grace
for trials we are called to face.
When darkness falls and faith grows dim,
the Lord remains our Light!

* This was written to honor a friend who died in the recent snow and icy storm in Seattle (that caused a power outage for nearly a half-million people). Philip Gregory Barber was moving his ATV out of the garage when a tree fell on him killing him instantly. Ironically, his daughter-in-law gave birth to little Macy (his second granddaughter) the day of his death. As you read this, please pray for Greg’s widow Irene and their family. Check out Greg’s obituary at http://www.flintofts.com/

** A neighbor of the Barbers has written about Greg in his blog. I commend to you the writings of Michael Wolf at www.mkwolf.com

Spiritual lessons from a capsized cruise ship;
A Race to Nome

Avoiding a Shipwrecked Faith
Spiritual lessons from a capsized cruise ship

Much like that grave ill-fated cruise
that captivates the evening news,
we run the risk of capsized faith
if we ignore God’s charts.

They point to what will do us in.
Those submerged boulders He calls sin.
The jagged crags of lust and greed
just cannot be ignored.

Yes, unseen rocks can tear a hole
and scar the lining of the soul.
The reef of sin will ruthlessly
destroy the joy we seek.

We’d best steer clear of Satan’s lies.
If not, we’re likely to capsize.
And shipwrecked faith is fraught with fear
and doubt that steals your hope.

A Race to Nome
A tag-team rescue then and now

In Nome in 1925
they wondered if they would survive.
A January shortage
found them scurrying for help.

Without a much-needed supply,
both old and young would surely die.
But just in time sled dogs came through
and serum reached the town.**

And now (as then) they prayed and hoped.
Without reserves, they’d never cope.
Another shortage (like before)
meant Nome was in the news.

In what seemed both absurd and cruel,
a Russian tanker had their fuel
but couldn’t ply the Bering Sea.
The ice was 8 feet thick.

So near and yet so far away!
The folks in Nome still hoped and prayed.
And as was true in ’25,
a tag-team raced ‘gainst time.

The Coast Guard’s Healy broke the ice
and paved a way that would suffice
to let the tanker fin’lly reach
the isolated town.

Through teamwork Nome received black gold
and now is brighter and less cold.
And as was true in ’25,
God answered just in time.

** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_serum_run_to_Nome