O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

O Love that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,

I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

I love this hymn... I'm still not sure about the music it was put to, but the poetry is beautiful. It's been running through my head all day long. There may be earthquakes, tornadoes, so called "Judgement Days", wars, rumors of wars, and all such terrible things that fill the world today; and (they could be called worse) the internal storms that rage -- my failure, faults, fears and discouragements; I know that His love will not let me go. What a wonderfully and divinely (dare I say it) cozy thought. 

We had a wonderful weekend, my hubby and I. He turned the ripe old age of 26, and we went to the park with a picnic lunch. Since the lunch was of particular interest to me, I'll explain -- I went to the market and bought fresh lemons, cherries and peaches; pecorino romano cheese; and a big bag of fresh pita bread. Then I set to work. First, I made tiny little lemon cookies and sandwiched them with tangy lemon curd filling. Then I sauteed some chicken breast with Italian seasoning, salt, garlic and rosemary. Then I shaved off big chunks of the pecorino romano. (which is a salty, briny cousin of Parmesan -- and tastes even better, if you ask me!) I then added the chicken, cheese and some crumbled bacon to two pitas with lettuce and garlic Caesar on the side. Add some kettle chips, peaches, cherries, water bottles and "sparking clementine juice"... with a homemade card and a poem I wrote tucked in the side of the cooler-bag,  and we had a picnic! 

This we took to Metro Beach Park, spread a Mexican blanket on the grass between the water and a grove of willow trees... and promptly fell asleep listening to the water and feeling the sun tingle our faces with a hint of color. :) It sounds so romantic, doesn't it? Well... it was, until 5 screaming children came to "fish" with Daddy and Uncle so-and-so right next to us. But we laughed and realized we were hungry and the picnic was calling. So we ate and thoroughly enjoyed most of it. The peaches were really hard and I have this aversion to bacon recently for some reason... but Joel loved it all and since it was his birthday, I made the best of it (while he made the best of the rest of my wrap). The cookies really were incredible though, if I do say so myself -- just enough sweet buttery crunch laced with lemon to warrant eating as much as we could of them!

We then set off into the woods on a nature trail. The ground was a bit muddy, but nothing daunted, we walked the whole thing and came out on the other side happy, tired, a little dirt streaked and slightly sampled by mosquitoes. The sun was setting then so we left the park, and on our way home found a hole in the wall ice cream shop to finish a happy birthday. 

And I must say, if you'll allow me some Louisa May Alcott description, (and at the risk of my husband reading this) At moments during the day he looked only 6 of all his 26 years-- with dirt streaks and little red bites up his legs, a bit of ice cream on his nose and his hair in a frightful disheveled state, he was the picture of the happy little boy I never met. But other times, he looked very much like the handsome (and still happy) young man I married almost a year ago this summer. 

And all this -- the fear abroad and the happiness within -- is what made me think of the love that will not let me go, thus the song stuck in my head. The love that loves me -- incredibly -- more than my husband. The Love that gave everything for my soul, and will never, ever let me go. 

  

Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand... 

He will feed His flock like a shepherd; 

He will gather the lambs with His arm

 And carry them in His bosom,

 And gently lead those who are with young.

Isaiah 40:10-11

:) no, I won't say sorry for my sap. 

Happy Birthday, my love!