WALKING HAND-IN-HAND

Far across the classroom wide, beneath the windows there,
sat a boy in a blue-striped shirt, with blond and wavy hair.
While on the far side, watching, was a girl with quiet smile;
Her head bent low, how could she know he saw her all the while?

He caught her eye and she looked back; It made her heart beat fast!
And once, their eyes met in the hall; he felt her strolling past.
Each thought the other mighty fine, someone they'd like to know;     
but destiny denied the fact, and two hearts cautioned, "No."

The boy dropped out of school as soon as he reached sixteen years.
She missed him some, but he was gone; she wouldn't waste her tears.
One summer day she took a bus and found him riding, too.
A spark revived in friendly talk 'till her home came into view.

October came; he bought a car, went cruisin' one cool night.
When he drove by and beeped the horn, her heart fluttered with delight.
"I hope he comes back," she whispered to her sister and her friend.
Long story short, even as she spoke, he drove around the bend!

Mesmerized by his deep blue eyes, she climbed in, feeling so grand.
From that day on, you could see them walking, talking, hand-in-hand.
As they held hands one starry night, he gazed into her eyes.
"You are beautiful," he said with a long and dreamy sigh.

She never hesitated, but "you're handsome," she replied.
The next words that he uttered were to her a great surprise.
She never forgot that moment from that day until this,
when he first said, "I love you" and sealed it with a kiss.

One day they stood at an altar, holding hands and vowing love,
and the Lord God gave His blessing as He smiled from above.
Though hands and hearts were ever linked through hardships and through joy,
at times they lost the vision of that far-off girl and boy,

But respect and deep commitment brought them through life's hardest trials,
and the God they based their lives on held them safely all the while.
Now, as twilight years are dawning, though some folks can't understand,
you can see them still together, walking, talking, hand-in-hand.

This is not a testimony to our love, but to God's, Who brought us through difficult trials, and kept us together by His grace.  And yes, we still love each other, still hold hands, and enjoy each other's company as best friends.  Okay, we still argue, too.

Jesus said, as part of a discussion in Matthew chapter 19:
"So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."