“Those we love are never really lost to us – we feel them in so many special ways. Through friends they always cared about and dreams they left behind. In beauty that they added to our days…in words of wisdom we still carry with us and memories that never will be gone. Those we love are never really lost to us – for everywhere their special love lives on.” – Amanda Bradley
This Christmas, while strolling through a store to buy my wife a new pair of slippers, I stumbled upon something quite unexpected.
It was a stand-alone plaque which read “Soulmates” across the top, with a picture frame inset right beneath it.
On the left-hand side read the following quote: “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Above all, clothe yourselves in love.” – Colossians 3:12
I found myself moved by the message and immediately recalled a black and white photograph from our wedding dance, which would look perfect in the frame. I quickly headed for the register.
The plaque instantly resonated with my wife upon opening, and it sat under our Christmas tree until it was time to get the house back in order about a week later.
Finding a home
As the two of us began cleaning up the holiday décor – dusting and vacuuming the shadows of the holiday away – I began searching for a place for this inspiring plaque.
It seemed right at home on a built-in next to the fireplace – sharing a shelf with a beloved mantel clock my wife inherited from her grandfather.
Re-reading the message and smiling at the black and white photograph of the two of us from almost 17 years ago, I realized what else belonged on that shelf.
Scurrying from room to room, I gathered together four mismatched frames in various sizes and designs. I began artfully placing them in front of the newly purchased plaque with purpose and meaning.
And when I was done, I had gathered together the soulmates of our legacy – the wedding photos of our cherished grandparents, against the backdrop of the grandchildren they loved so very much.
The simplistic display left me in awe.
It was just the other evening when I confessed to my wife how much I missed my grandparents. How their unconditional love and attention was something impossible to replicate and a void that may never be filled.
But now staring at this impromptu memorial, at the history before me, I was reminded that love lives on and how the support they always bestowed upon me is still here. How the memories which flood my mind on any given day will always keep them alive.
How does a moment last forever?
How can a story never die?
It is love we must hold onto
Never easy, but we try
Sometimes our happiness is captured
Somehow, our time and place stand still
Love lives on inside our hearts and always will
Minutes turn to hours, days to years then gone
But when all else has been forgotten
Still our song lives on
