A Hand Along the Journey: Poems for the King from One Pilgrim to Another

  “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God…” I John 4:7   Giving a blanket’s a heart-warming gesture, Bringing sweet cozy comfort year after year. The colors and threads woven together Illustrate memories that we’ll always treasure. A blanket’s a hug from the person who gave it; When they’re far away, as if with you they sit. Forever you’re grateful that God did permit Their lives with yours to divinely be knit. From babies to seniors, blankets mean care. Sometimes when we get them, words just aren’t there To say all the feelings we wish we could share, But we pray that the giver is of them aware. Crocheted or quilted, woven or plush, Handmade or bought - what matters much Is each time we touch it, we’re feeling love’s touch; And that is a gift our hearts always clutch. To Uncle Mark, Aunt Cindy, and Ben: thank you!

This Mothers' Day, I want to honor two mothers who have made such a difference in my life: my mom and Bill's mom. The first poem below I wrote in 2016, when Mother's Day was on May 8, for my Mama, Frances Mary Ballard Boley Benge. The second one is a poem whose author I don't know. I first saw in on the wall of an elderly couple's home whom I sat with once while in college. It was such a beautiful poem that I hurriedly copied it down on notebook paper while at their house. Always the hopeless romantic, I prayed I'd know it's beauty experientially one day. God answered that prayer in Bill's mom, Janet Marie Dillon Hall. These virtuous ladies are priceless! Having been a pastor's wife for a dozen years, I can say without a doubt that there is an immeasurable difference in the lives of children who have and do not have godly mothers and fathers. It is the weightiest ministry a person can have for the kingdom of God. May we do it well for His glory, as t...