Major pieces in place

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread

Ps. 37:25

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Eph. 3:16-21

God's faithfulness continues, as the final major elements have come together. In the past week, honeymoon, housing, wedding photographer, and other items that seemed like they wouldn't work out (and for most, at least one plan had already fallen through, e.g., anticipated honeymoon hotel unexpectedly having to close for repairs) are finally in place. But we know that our heavenly Father watches our steps. He cares for his children, He knows what we need before we know, and He cares for us to glorify himself, to show us the unfathomability of His love, to overwhelm us, that we might recognize our utter bewilderment at the limitlessness of His mercies. And he asks nothing but "Be strong, my child; I AM."

The Unsayable Something

Many thanks to Lord and Lady Peter who kindly introduced us to the poetry of Donne, who has expressed the void that we have found words cannot fill. Em, thank you for the introduction to his lordship and her ladyship.



THE ECSTACY
by John Donne

WHERE, like a pillow on a bed,
A pregnant bank swell'd up, to rest
The violet's reclining head,
Sat we two, one another's best.

Our hands were firmly cemented
By a fast balm, which thence did spring;
Our eye-beams twisted, and did thread
Our eyes upon one double string.

So to engraft our hands, as yet
Was all the means to make us one;
And pictures in our eyes to get
Was all our propagation.

As, 'twixt two equal armies, Fate
Suspends uncertain victory,
Our souls—which to advance their state,
Were gone out—hung 'twixt her and me.

And whilst our souls negotiate there,
We like sepulchral statues lay;
All day, the same our postures were,
And we said nothing, all the day.

If any, so by love refined,
That he soul's language understood,
And by good love were grown all mind,
Within convenient distance stood,

He—though he knew not which soul spake,
Because both meant, both spake the same—
Might thence a new concoction take,
And part far purer than he came.

This ecstasy doth unperplex
(We said) and tell us what we love;
We see by this, it was not sex;
We see, we saw not, what did move:

But as all several souls contain
Mixture of things they know not what,
Love these mix'd souls doth mix again,
And makes both one, each this, and that.

A single violet transplant,
The strength, the colour, and the size—
All which before was poor and scant—
Redoubles still, and multiplies.

When love with one another so
Interanimates two souls,
That abler soul, which thence doth flow,
Defects of loneliness controls.

We then, who are this new soul, know,
Of what we are composed, and made,
For th' atomies of which we grow
Are souls, whom no change can invade.

But, O alas ! so long, so far,
Our bodies why do we forbear?
They are ours, though not we; we are
Th' intelligences, they the spheres.

We owe them thanks, because they thus
Did us, to us, at first convey,
Yielded their senses' force to us,
Nor are dross to us, but allay.

On man heaven's influence works not so,
But that it first imprints the air;
For soul into the soul may flow,
Though it to body first repair.

As our blood labours to beget
Spirits, as like souls as it can;
Because such fingers need to knit
That subtle knot, which makes us man;

So must pure lovers' souls descend
To affections, and to faculties,
Which sense may reach and apprehend,
Else a great prince in prison lies.

To our bodies turn we then, that so
Weak men on love reveal'd may look;
Love's mysteries in souls do grow,
But yet the body is his book.

And if some lover, such as we,
Have heard this dialogue of one,
Let him still mark us, he shall see
Small change when we're to bodies gone.

Source: Donne, John.
Poems of John Donne. vol I.
E. K. Chambers, ed.London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1896. 53-56.

A Few "Cute" Pictures

First, some involving the great outdoors:

Mountaintop, wind, longer than average hair. The West is fun.

If you look in the reflection in the glasses, behind the camera you can see Great Falls.

A few from the deep archives:

A black tie event very early in our courtship.

First Valentine's Day. Things yet to learn: sitting close together, buying good flowers, aligning the camera properly. (Ok, for the record, I did get flowers, but they seem to have taken a leave of absense in this shot.)

Being more literal minded, Jonathan takes seriously the cameraperson's command, "Don't smile!"

And finally, a Liberty Ball picture. You can't see the full-calf riding boots I am wearing, but they are there.

I will end here, since it wouldn't do to keep you from having a reason to come back later, when more pictures go up.

A few pictures, more on the way

First, two of us the night of our engagement.



This one is us in front of the restaurant (Sea, Sea, and Co. in Occoquan, VA) where we had dinner before taking the walk through town that ended at the footbridge. The pictures were taken after she said "yes" - note the huge smiles!!



And here we are at the entrance to the footbridge.



A daylight shot of the bridge, taken some months later.



A close up of the ring, taken overlooking the waterfall.



Finally, the waterfront side of Sea, Sea, and Co. As it was March when we became engaged, and still a bit brisk outside, we ate inside. Nonetheless, our booth near the roaring fireplace had a good view of the river. They also have a very fun battered shrimp which has two shrimp joined at the tail, and which romantic couples can eat simultaneously toward the center.