Messages in a Bottle

When I leave on mission trips, I am keenly aware of how much harder I'm making things on my family.  I'm no supermom or superwife, but I do function within our family in ways that matter.  I try to do more middle of the night, bathtime, and bedtime duty before I leave.  I try to come home and pitch in more than my fair share, even though I'm exhausted from a week of little sleep, because my husband is also exhausted from a week of little sleep.

I leave gifts.  This year, my son got a small gift each day--think dollar bins at Target.  My daughter got some small gifts and the video I mentioned in a previous post.

This year, my husband received four messages in a bottle.  He's a words of affirmation guy, and there are boxes at our house full of affirming and loving words I've written him over the last 15 years.  But, I wanted to try something different.  So, I wrote poems.  I wrote poems to a guy who doesn't always like my poems, and I wrote my first ever love poems.  Here are the first two:


the bottle

Love protects us

from our sin

our doubts

ourselves.

Love protects us

from things that go bump in the night.



from statistics about children of divorced parents.

                from cerebral whispers, “You’re not good enough.”

I will charge the cavalry

                on foot

                unarmed

                to protect you

                and your dreams

                and your ideals

                and your ego.

Love always protects.