A movement away

Amazing how a single choice
alters my every option
How one momentary action
sets all else in motion
My own thought has changed the life
of every other person
And all that I am certain of
becomes a certain question

Relative to relationships
life is never lonely
Everything revolves around
the trust of wise decisions
When one move is made in haste
all will feel the pain
I stub my toe
you take the blow
and the world nurses the bruise

Selfishness perceives loneliness
the heart cannot protect
One who loves and one who hates
all can feel the wind
of change and choice
all are at the mercy of the others
Move and sing carefully, my dear,
Fragile lives and destinies
are only a movement away from change

Most of you know I love poetry and read it daily in some form or another. I don't really write it anymore which is a little weird since I used to write a lot, but I think it takes a discipline I no longer possess. Or maybe I am just a little jaded in some way I wasn't in my younger years. This poem is another from an old Asbury Theological Seminary blog, and they never give credit to the author. I had bookmarked it awhile ago and lying in bed last night I was thinking of it again, and so I looked for it this morning.

I was watching my husband closely the last few months. I have listened to the changes in his own heart and life. I see a peace and a contentment with our life that I often prayed he would find. I see no grumbling with the day to day work, yes even drudgery, that makes up a real life. I see him delight in his children and sacrifice to provide and still make time for them and for me, often with no time for himself at all.

There was a period in our lives several years ago when our family was just a movement away from falling apart. I had lost my way and commitment to our marriage, and it was my husband who found forgiveness and grace and moved to save our love and the possibility of what we now share. Not a day goes by that I don't think about how it could have been. Not a day goes by I don't fall on my knees in gratefulness for God intervening and changing both of our hearts and lives.

Last night as I snuggled with Dan I told him again how thankful I am for him. I told him how blessed I am by his response to our daily life. As I drifted off to sleep I thought about how close we were to the awful consequences of sin and selfishness. I thought about how every decision we make affects so much more than our little world. I prayed for God to guide and direct each movement I make for good and not evil.

Thank You for Your grace in situations where we deserve the consequences of wrong and You bless us with goodness and mercy. Thank You for my marriage and the living testament it is of how a movement, that of selfishness and pride, and a response of forgiveness and humility can change lives and reflect Your own amazing love.