Love's Last Test

The following was written by a friend or ours, Steve Klein. I hope it touches you as it did me!

I miss my Dad. He set my young feet on a straight path. In my adult life, he was a strong fellow-worker in the Kingdom. I miss my dad even though he is still here. My dad has Alzheimer's disease. My mom cares for him; an on going struggle which both tests and strengthens her love for him day by day.
Mom shared this poem with me the other day; it was written by Dorothy Gast on honor of O.J. Gast and is entitled:

"Will you Still Love Me?"

Will you still love me if I don't know your name,

When my eyes have failed and nothing is the same?

When I don't know the date or even my age,

Or what is this book and where is the page?

Will you take time to remember and cherish our past,

And make our shared moments gold as long as they last?

Will you hold me and touch me and wrap me in care,

And whisper reminders of the history we share?

Will you hold on to me when myself fades away,

And you are a face from a dim yesterday?

When I want to go home and home is where I stand,

Will you gently remind me and hold to my hand?

When I call you Mama and forget you're my wife,

Will you tease me and kiss me and rejoice in my life?

Will you hold on to my world when I cannot see,

Will you keep a sweet thought for our used-to-be?

Will you keep our familiy together and memories bright,

Reminding our children to seek for the right?

And when I can no longer hold up my share,

Will you still take time to show me you care?

Will you hold on to my worlds for me?

Love is truely the greatest of all abiding things. It "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails" (1 Cor 13:7,8a) And love, real love, between a husband and a wife, bravely faces even its final test. As my Dad would say, "in the final analysis", love really is "as strong as death" (Song of Solomon 8:6) ---Steve Klien

Steves father died from complications of Alzheimers a few years back. Steve's mother, who introduced him to this poem, now suffers from it as well. Steve and his wife Sandi are now caring for her.

Be watching for the "Honor Your Husbands" Challenge!