every breath she takes, my heart stutters for only a moment.

each time she walks past, I pause . . . thankful that God does exist.

when joyous events pass my senses, she’s the first one I want to tell.

when tragedy falls and shakes my soul, it’s her shoulder I want to cry on.

ours is not a like or a love that accidentally crosses paths.

it was planted and grown and placed right where it needed to be.

an intersection of souls where we had to pass at an exact moment in a vast

expanse of time forward and back

where one heart would sense the other, and instantly

know one another.

her heart to mine, my heart to hers.

her history to mine, my history to hers.

we are because we were. we grow because we are.

she stands before me as I stand before her as we stand before Him.

Michael Lanier

November 7, 2022