One evening while we talked about
our hopes and dreams for life,
you asked me just what kind of girl
would suit me as a wife.
I did not answer right away.
I wanted first a glance
of what your ideal man might be
and if I stood a chance.
“All right,” you said, “I’ll tell the truth:
I hope that I’ll be blessed
to find a man who’s much like you.”
You blushed and then confessed,
“I often in the dark of night
have gazed upon a star
and made a wish and said a prayer
that somewhere, near or far,
a choice, young man about my age
in reverence by his bed
was kneeling, speaking with his God,
and asking he be led
to find a woman pure and true
who’d be his friend and bride;
someone with whom he’d face the world
undaunted, side by side.
I know he’s out there somewhere.
My standard will not fade,
and God will tell him I’m the one.
He’ll be just as I prayed:
a kind, good man who as a boy
pledged to his God above
he’d never give me reason
to doubt that I was loved;
a man who with a grateful heart
will daily kneel to pray
and humbly covenant with his Lord
that he will never stray;
a man who in the strength of faith
will shun this world of sin
and faithful keep his promise true
through prayer and discipline;
a man as virtuous and clean
as what he hopes I’ll be,
who’ll show his love through tenderness
and gentle dignity;
and at those times when life’s just hard,
he’ll notice when I sigh
and wrap me in his warm embrace
and hold me when I cry.
He’s searching for me, somewhere.
My standard will not fade.
And God will help the man I’ll love
to be just as I prayed."

One evening while I talked with God
about my hopes for life,
I told Him you were just the girl
I wanted for my wife:
a woman who expects of me
no less than God above,
who trusted Him to lead to her
someone whom she could love.
And though I’m far from perfect,
I am that boy who made
his pledge to God with all my heart
to be just as you prayed.

I wrote this poem for a special occasion in my life: my son's (my only son's) wedding. I wrote it for his bride Andrea. I'm so pleased that they found each other; but I think I err in saying that. It's more accurate to say "God led them to each other." I believe that when we strive to know God's will and keep His commandments, He intervenes constantly in our life so that we have the life experience that He wants us to have. His is the sway of circumstance; and since we make no more important decision than when we chose whom we marry, it's reasonable to assume that if we knock, He will open.

As luck would have it--and there I go again not giving credit where it is due--the poem filled another need a few weeks later while I was working on my second novel, The Willow Switch. Read the novel, and you'll discover how.