Joy Comes in the Mourning

I was attracted to him from the moment I saw him, and the feeling was definitely mutual. When he asked me out and took my hand, we both felt the electricity-it jolted us almost like a lightning bolt! On our first official date, after the ballet, we sat in his car in the theatre parking lot under the stars. For hours, we talked sharing our hopes, fears, and even our secrets. And we fell deeply in love.
Oh, yes, we had issues. My moods might be soaring in the morning yet hold me in a grip of despair that evening. There was turmoil inside me, but I longed for inner peace. He had finally come to the place where he admitted to himself that he was an alcoholic; he knew he needed to find a way out of that bondage. He wanted to be free. With our souls powerfully connected from the moment our hands touched, together we began our search for answers.
How did our "happily ever after" work out? This book is the true story of our spiritual journey weaving through dark and turbulent times leading to a dramatic "Damascus Road" experience, and meeting the Creator of this tapestry called life. It reveals the changes and healing that can result from coming to know God and living at peace with him.
In 1966 as a single college student, I published this poem:

MY LOVER
I don't know his name, that who can tell?
But, no matter, I know him well.
The kind of man he is and will be?
A lover of earth, and sky, and sea!

He loves the world and its clouds of lace;
He thinks the world is a wondrous place.
He loves the ocean and white-capped waves;
He loves to make memories to save and save.
He loves to read, and laugh, and talk;
He loves to take long, lonely walks.
He loves the earth as I do.
He is kind, and handsome, too.
Handsome in word, and look, and deed;
Ready to help when there's a need.

The kind of man he is and will be?
A lover of earth and sky and me!