Loves lifelong Vow

 Today Mike and I have been married 39 years! Of course we married at 10 -LOL.

At our wedding ceremony (which was very traditional 1974 style) we used the-

Groom: I,____, take thee,_____, to be my lawful wedded Wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.

Bride: I,_____, take thee,_____, to be my lawful wedded Husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth

I have no idea what my troth was and how I was supposed to give it but these were the things we said.
I started thinking about all the words we say to one another and giving our pledge is such a lost way of life. I did mean these words even if I didnt fully get it.
So here is my poem to my first and only love-

                            The Vows


The Vows we said were black and white
We had little understanding in the candlelight.

The Vows we said were words of old
From times past when love was often sold.

The Vows we said were meant to last
A pledge, a promise and a lifelong task.

The Vows we spoke were hard to live
But kept love going when there wasnt much to give.

The Vows we said were black and white
Keeping us through our darkest night.
And as the years have hurried by
Our love has been tested and has been tried.

And the words we spoke in black and white
Have burst forth in color illuminated by His Light.








 

Completely Collaged.com: ALWAYS PLAY IN THE GARDEN - Radical Wellness message to my Soul

Completely Collaged.com: ALWAYS PLAY IN THE GARDEN - Radical Wellness message to my Soul

ALWAYS PLAY IN THE GARDEN - Radical Wellness message to my Soul

10x7 ink on watercolor

My morning reading from the book of Proverbs reminded me-
                           
" The very steps we take are from God,
   otherwise how would we know where to go"

As I thought about these Words I saw myself stepping into a garden.
I needed to walk thoughtfully and be observant as I went- yet I didn't need to worry for the garden path was always there to keep me moving forward.

The garden idea was pleasant to think about for He created me to enjoy beauty.

I was made for a garden.

When things are hard or stressful I find peace by looking out at the natural world, my soul is nourished and calmed.

I was made for a garden.

Times with family and loved ones seem most enjoyable when surrounded by flora and fauna.   

I was made for a garden.

The artist in me enjoys creating and using the colors and themes of Nature. This is where my spirit loves to play.

For I was made for a garden.

Crossing Guards - artful thoughts from Radical Wellness

This week from my online course RADICAL WELLNESS we had to give some time to thinking about a childhood hurt or issue and how it became used for good when you became an adult.

CROSSING GUARD 10x7 ink on watercolor paper

My childhood was lonely and isolated. Most of the time my only sister and I couldn't play together for fear that we would fight and get too loud. We were not allowed to have friends over or have birthday parties until we were well into high school.
 
 At 6 I was told I was too old for my menagerie of stuffed things and off they went into the trash. To this day I don't know what the motivation was for discarding the pleasures of childhood but that was the rule.

 My best childhood stuffed animal was Quincy- a pink, big headed buttoned eyed dog. He protected me from all things that went bump in the night and was the leader of the fluffy animal pack. He was the object that felt and understood my pain, he dried my tears and held all my secrets. He helped me cross the bridge between childhood to girlhood.

My art imagery contains symbols of childhood and a "guardian" of sorts that helped me through. Quincy was it. He guarded my Crossing until I could understand that there was One who was the True Guardian. And so the poem and artwork...

                                         The Crossing Guard
      There is a journey that begins by crossing the empty desert of solitude.
      The dry air of Silence burns the lungs as the wasteland of loneliness scorches the soul.
      Yet there is hope in this journey and reward to be claimed,
        for here the streams of imagination flow
      Watering the secret garden of childhood- where fantasies and daydreams flourish.
      Here loneliness becomes a sanctuary- a place of renewal and strength.

I am grateful for this lesson of childhood for it has left me with little fear of Silence or Loneliness. They are the companions that lead to His Sanctuary.