A while back Alicia Hovies in Bellingham, Washington, sent me a poem she’d adapted from a paragraph in one of my books. She asked permission to print it sometimes in wedding programs; of course I said yes. It’s certainly better than in its original prose form! I thought with wedding months coming up you might want to use it, too. (If you do, include the printed notice at the bottom.)
With a true pioneering spirit
that’s excited,
cautious,
relentless,
Push into each other’s hearts
where no one else has ever been before,
and discover,
all on your own,
What has never before been fathomed in your partner
by anyone but God:
the dark places,
the bright places,
the agonies and
the ecstasies.
And the more you come upon,
the more gather it all up
in your arms
and say,
“This is all mine,
God’s gift to me.”
Hold tightly
this amazing, labyrinthine, dearest treasure
who is
your other self.
© Copyright 1998 Anne Ortlund. The Gentle Ways of the Beautiful Woman, p. 265, Inspirational Press, Edison, NJ. Adapted by Alicia Hovies.
If you would like to be added to our monthly mailing, please email us at renewalministries@ortlund.org with your name and address.