August 19, 1967 - August 19, 2017

To:  Janet Louise (Holton) Thompson

It's been fifty years today
Since I gave my heart away
To the one whom I adore
Dust to dust—forevermore.

When Lt. Col. Hayes,
With whom I served in Vietnam,
Encouraged me to write you from that far-away land,
It took a long time to muster the courage to do it,
For I was afraid you wouldn't answer.
But thanks be to God, you did.
Had you not responded,
I'm certain we would not be together today.

Thus, on that Saturday evening so long ago,
We stood before God and a throng of people,
In Marshall University's Christian Center,
Declaring that each would take the other
To be our lawfully wedded husband and wife,
To have and to hold,
From that day forward,
For better,
For worse,
For richer,
For poorer,
In sickness and in health,
Until death do we part.

Over the years we—
Have given our lives to Christ together,
Were baptized and have worshipped our Lord and Savior together,
Raised two wonderful sons together,
Have laughed together from the silliest things imaginable,
Cried together during times of happiness and sorrow,
Worried together, sometimes not knowing which way to turn,
Cooked thousands of meals together,
Said good-bye to precious loved ones together,
And have been truly blessed with growing old together.

Today, whether we are in a large or small group of people,
You are still the one I seek to find,
For you are the other half of me,
And I'm more comfortable with you than anyone else. 

One day, unless we are called home together,
One of us will pass from this life before the other.
It is my hope that I will be the one,
For I cannot imagine spending one minute here without you.

Now that fifty years has passed,
Looks like our marriage is going to last.
You're still the one whom I adore,
And every day I love you more.

Finally, as Dr. John Phillips may have said so emphatically
—"Selah!"
Or, "What do you think about that?"

All my love,

David

©Copyright 2017 By David Lee Thompson