Prayer #158: Better Half

It takes two.
I thought one was enough,
It's not true:
It takes two of us
You came through
When the journey was rough.
It took you.
It took two of us.

It takes care.
It takes patience and fear and despair
To change.
Though you swear
To change,
Who can tell if you do?
It takes two.

...

It takes one
To begin, but then once
You've begun,
It takes two of you.

It's no fun,
But what needs to be done
You can do
When there's two of you.

If I dare,
It's because I'm becoming
Aware of us
As a pair of us,
Each accepting a share
Of what's there.

-- Excerpt from "It Takes Two," Into the Woods

Prayer #158: Better Half

All great partnerships

begin with trust
deepen with compromise
evolve with sacrifice
expand with revelation

yet never burst their bindings

for love
and friendship
and respect
are most forgiving knots.

Help me tie them tight, Lord. Help me be a better half.

Amen.