That Courtship Thing Again

One of the things we did last month was to go to the wedding of a daughter of some old friends. It was a beautiful wedding done in white and blues and twinkling lights. One of the things they had displayed as you entered was a little table with two poems. One poems was something the parents of the bride had copied and given to the groom after he had asked to court their daughter. The young man had written his own poem back in answer. They both were beautiful and touching. I recognized the poem the parents had copied but of course, I don't have a copy of the groom's reply. Here's the poem, Letter to a Suitor by Miss Procter:

Before I trust my fate to thee,
Or place my hand in thine;
Before I let thy future give
Color and form to mine;
Before I peril all for thee,
Question thy soul tonight for me.

I break all slighter bonds, nor feel
A shadow of regret;
Is there one link within the past
That holds thy spirit yet?
Or is thy faith as clear and free
As that which I can pledge to thee?

Does there within thy dimmest dreams
A possible future shine,
Wherein thy life could henceforth breathe,
Untouched, unshared by mine?
If so, at any pain or cost,
Oh, tell me before all is lost.

Look deeper still. If thou canst feel
Within thy inmost soul
That thou hast kept a portion back,
While I have staked the whole,
Let no false pity spare the blow,
But in true mercy tell me so.

If there within thy heart a need
That mine cannot fulfill?
One chord that any other hand
Could beter wake or still?
Speak now - lest at some future day
My whole life wither and decay.

Lives there within thy nature bid
The demon-spirit Change,
Shedding a passing glory still
On all things new and strange?
It may not be thy fault alone -
But shield my heart against thine own.

Couldst thou withdraw thy hand one day
And answer to my claim
That Fate, and that to-day's mistake-
Not thou-had been to blame?
Some soother their conscience thus; but thou
Wilt surely warn and save me now.

Also during the slide show there was another reference to the letter that the groom had written requesting permission to court the daughter. It was very beautiful and full of respect for their position in her life - a concept that most people laugh at these days. It was obvious it was more than just an old tradition and formality of asking for her hand, but a true process of seeking permission and a blessing before proceeding to try to woo the girl's heart. Very beautiful!

Up and Running Again

Mr. Potts generously loaned me the new computer that was intended for his business until mine is fixed. Is that a great guy or what! Now if I can just get caught up on sleep, I have so many things to write about.

We have had such an active month, traveling and visiting old friends and making new ones here back home. CHANGE would have to be the theme of our lives at this point. Change is sometimes very hard, and harder for some than others. I happen to be one that enjoys change most of the time. In fact, last year for my birthday Mr. Potts bought me a cool picture of a tree that changes seasons when you look at it from different angles. The word 'change' is printed in large letters beneath the picture. Little did I know how much change this past year would bring.

The biggest change is changing churches. We have been members of a very small fellowship for almost eleven years. It has been a great place to raise young children. I am thankful for the shelter it afforded while my children grew strong in the Lord. For the past year or so I have been praying for a way to get my children in a position where they could have more of an effect for God's kingdom. I really feel they have a lot to offer their generation and I hated to see this opportune time waste away. Well, God has made it very clear to us that we needed to move on. We all have been very excited about a fairly large church we have been visiting. It's an hour away but the time commuting has been a good time to listen to music and prepare our hearts for worship and to talk together about what we have heard and seen. It also gives us a chance to do our shopping in the big city while we are there. There are many opportunities to get involved in this new church and I'm sure it will be an interesting year.

On Standby...

While our computer is being looked at after it died a couple of days ago. I'm over at Grandma's since I couldn't stand being away from cyberspace any longer. We haven't given up on blogging and we hope to be up and running soon!

We're Back...and much Browner too!

And a good time was had by all. All of the visiting was marvelous. So much encouragement and love every where we went. I came home overwhelmed by the blessings of family and friends who love the Lord (and us too!). We spent hours traveling the roads laughing and acting so silly in a way that we would not dare behave in front of anyone else that didn't descend from my crazy side of the family - especially when it was just us girls. Even the girls who do not often exhibit these crazy traits as often as others of us displayed their heritage quite vividly on the trip. Sometimes I was laughing so hard it was difficult to drive.

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Our week at the beach was wonderful even though Ernesto thought about trying to run us off. Instead we just enjoyed the great waves. Mr. Potts needed a couple of chiropractor visits after all of the wave riding he did. He forgets he is not so young any more! AdventureQueen, PearlKeeper and Mr. Potts squeezed in a parasailing ride the last day before they closed it down for the storm. Mostly we avoided the touristy things and just enjoyed time on the beach, at the pool and hanging out at the condo.

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After three weeks I finally felt ready to come home. After taming the lawn that had grown almost three feet high, we are settling down back into our routine. Tigger has started soccer, Tom is helping to coach a soccer team with disabilities and the girls are wanting to really give dance their all this year. So, we are back home to our busy lives and loving it. We look forward to more vacations but there is no place like HOME!