Against All Odds, Love Finds Its Way

Once, possibly thrice in a lifetime, you stumble across someone who profoundly, unashamedly leaves you breathless. One, who over time, commiserates with you on the lowest level you find yourself, after you've kissed a 25-plus-year relationship goodbye. It's in that moment, in the twinkling of an eye, you realize it's not what you have or had, in my case, that makes life worth continuing, but who you have that willingly shares the air you breathe.

I use this line from Vivian Greene, "Life is not waiting for the Storms to pass, It's learning to Dance in the Rain," to close much of my correspondence. Fitting words, especially for me, because if I'd failed to dance in the rain while in the throes of my chaos, I would never have appreciated the sunshine that most assuredly followed.

This Valentine's Day I reflect on the tumultuous memories of what was, while embracing the reality of what is. It's in the is, I find myself humbly, incredibly inspired and grateful. So much so that I've written two novels, Ride To Redemption, and Ride To Restoration, based loosely on our cross country adventures over the last few years. I've even penned a Valentine's poem today, "Against All Odds," which I'm including in this read, as my way of saying thank you to the one who shares the air I breathe. A poem that says to all the brokenhearted souls out there, there is hope for the hopeless. This Valentine's season I ask you to cast aside your anxiety and join me dancing in the rain with abandon.

Against All Odds

Once upon a magical April's day, just a few years ago,
Our path's crossed, transcending time... most certainly space.
Against all odds, there emerged a life altering thread

Pulsating, throbbing, aching, it emerged
Longing to breathe above the deep water of our making,
Striving to thrive above the fray we found ourselves in.

The life altering essence that pulsed through my heart,
Began to pulse through yours.

And So It Began...

From the pristine shores of Dale Hollow Lake
To the white-capped mountains of Alberta,
We've traveled many a mile,
Shared many a smile,
And built a lifetime of memories.

Most definitely, there have been countless, warmhearted laughs
Tossed with a few heart-wrenching tears,
Most assuredly, there have been incredible, mind numbing highs
Though buffered, at times, by a few devastating lows.

Yet, through it all, the life living thread,
At times twisted, other times frayed, survives.

Profoundly, it survives because I calm you, in the sinews of my arms
Most definitely, it thrives because you ground me,
In the gentleness of your unselfish caress.

It is Life,
It is Living,
It is Love,
It is Us.

Against all odds,
The thread is you
Entwined in Me.
The thread is me,
Entwined in You.

Happy Valentine's Day 2016