An Anniversary Celebration of Sonnets

37 years... Thank-you, Lord This photo was taken at my niece's wedding on May 24th,where we gathered to witness the marriage and celebrateNewlyweds, who were sparkling with visions of marital bliss dancing in their heads!All of us who have been married forwell, really, almost any amount of time know'till death doth part' takes more than we can successfullyand beautifully accomplish on our own!But with God nothing is impossible!Especially faithful love,which He is the Author of! Below is Jim's 'home away from home'contributing often to the successes and challenges of marriage and love's second miles(pun intended 😅💓 ) He left yesterday morning with plans of picking up a load out west!On Sunday night after returning home from a family reunionI cooked and baked a week's worth of suppliesLast night the load got cancelled 😒He will be returning home tonight if all goes as planned.And such is life *** So much of life is out of our handsBut never love; love helps us bear all thingsNot with determined and selfish demandsBut with the strength that self-surrender brings Love, a story that begins in the heart Soon finds its feet as blindness starts to seeTo pull together lest we drift apartTakes sacrificing 'I' for 'us' and 'we' Love never runs out of lessons to teachNo one can outlive its so-much-to-learn Then, before one of us is out of reachLet's make the most of each day's no-return Before the solemn sundering of tiesForever closes doors and lips and eyes © Janet Martin *** 1 Cor.13:4-8  (NKJV)Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not []puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, []thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never fails... Darling, in a world mad with lust and spiteLet's make a vow to guard against the trend Committing rather to fight love's good fight  By God's grace to be faithful to the end Darling, the world will never sympathizeWith altars filled with ash of sacrifice Love suffers long and is kind; what a prizeTrue love esteems the other; what a price Darling, to-have-and-hold is no small fete To love-and-cherish until death doth partIs not a vacation on Easy StreetNor an endeavor for the faint of heart Darling, let's give love every finest chanceAnd live life humbly, by the grace God grants © Janet Martin Eccles.4:12... and a three strand cord is not quickly broken. Armed with a world of wonderful adviceIs not enough to master love's successUntil we learn love's law of sacrificeMarriage will suffer much unhappiness Fond hopes and dreams are lovely to behold But life does not cater to Well-laid Plan Its highway does not flawlessly unfoldAccording to the want and wish of man The ups and downs of love and life are sureMarriage takes two people, humanly-flawedAnd binds them with ties able to endureIf woven with the third strand who is God Darling, let's pray through both life's grand and grim That our love reflects the love of Him © Janet Martin And last but not least, after many somber reminders this past year+through many sudden losses of  Husband or Wife ofneighbours, friends and family, a sonnet of solemn awareness/thankfulness... *** No one can see or guarantee Tonight Death often enters/visits where/when we least expectSobering us with meek, wiser insight;Love, both a charge and gift none should neglect Each day pulses with opportunityTo love each other better, and God first To make the most of little words like 'we'And weather faithfully life's best and worst So when death comes (and it most surely will)Our deepest sorrow will not be regretBut, as the bitter tears of parting spillWe praise God for the joy of love's vows kept  Darling, while time is still on our sideLet's try our best to live love Self-denied © Janet Martin Lyrics-Dorothy F. Gurney 1 O perfect Love, all human thought transcending,lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne,that theirs may be the love which knows no ending,whom thou in sacred vow dost join in one. 2 O perfect Life, be thou their full assuranceof tender charity and steadfast faith,of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance,with childlike trust that fears no pain or death. 3 Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow;grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife;grant them the vision of the glorious morrowthat will reveal eternal love and life. Psalter Hymnal, 1987