True Song: A Journey Revealing the Truth of Marriage

Copyright © 2011 Carole Walters.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-2256-2 (sc)

ISBN13: 978-1-4497-4664-3 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011913232

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Edited by Andrea Merrell

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/13/2011

Contents

Preface

Part I

Prophet

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Part II

Poverty

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

About the Author

Dedicated to

The sacred institution of marriage.

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. - Ephesians 5:31-32

Preface

Marriage. We love the image of a beautiful wedding. We dream of the day we will take the place of that bride and groom. We yearn for marriage because we were created to be in a marriage union. It is the very means by which God created all of life. Marriage was created by God and it is very important to him. Yet, today, the term has almost become a loose concept. It’s as if we human beings have decided to make it our own. Make it what we want it to be. Make it fit our needs; work to our benefit.

God wants us to remember that marriage is a sacrament. Webster’s defines sacrament as, a means of devine grace. The Catholic Church has provided a contemporary definition: A reality imbued with the hidden presence of God. In other words, when we put God first he becomes the foundation of our relationship and should be seen in every aspect of our lives. God wants us to give our whole selves- body, mind, heart, and soul- to each other as helper and servant; each giving reciprocally. And in the same way, giving our whole selves to God.

The scene from the movie Ghandi where Ba and Ghandi repeat their wedding ceremony is a beautiful example of a bride who sees the third person within the union. The shot is taken before the temple. The two are lost in their memories; significance only they can know. They step toward each other with each vow.

Ba: In every worthy wish of yours, I shall be your helpmate.

Gandi: Take a fourth step, that we may be ever full of joy.

Ba: I will ever live devoted to you, speaking words of love and praying for your happiness.

Ghandi: Take a fifth step that we may serve the people.

Ba: I will follow close behind you and help to serve the people.

Ghandi: Take a sixth step that we may follow our vows in life.

Ba: I will follow you in all our vows and duties.

Ghandi:Take a seventh step that we may ever live as friends.

Ba: You are my best friend…my highest guru, and my sovereign lord.

Part I

Prophet

Chapter 1

Married to Loneliness

The teeny tiny sparrow flew right into the path of a ferocious storm. As the frightened sparrow twirled in circles, blown about in the middle of this great storm, she landed in a very unfamiliar place. Alone and separated from her mother, father, and all of her relatives, she didn’t know if she would ever see them again. She wandered around with no idea where she was and could not stop weeping. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months while the teeny tiny sparrow tried to find her way home. Finally, to her surprise, a friendly, male sparrow approached her. His name was Loneliness and she was very thankful to see him. He was kind, gentle, and never left her side. He wrapped his wings around her and swept her off her feet. It wasn’t long before she devoted herself completely to her solitary friend. Although she ached for her flock, she realized how much she needed Loneliness and fell in love with him. He asked her to be his wife and when they vowed to be together forever, her name became Married.

Chilly winds forced Married and Loneliness to fly south. Tree Sparrows, smaller than most of the other bird species, they built their nest high in the crown of a palm tree. The tree nestled in a lush and tropical park near a long, swampy river, which wound back and forth through the forest like a giant snake. The water fed into an estuary and poured out into the sea. A garden paradise, River Acres Park was secluded miles from civilization and seldom visited by humans. The private setting was home to a large community of birds; magpie, osprey, black kite, and grey heron, to name a few. Rich in sunlight, shadows and joyful noise, the secure creatures were closely guarded by the Mighty Champion, whom they referred to as Counselor. When Counselor took flight from his perch high above the tree tops, he swept down river and hovered over the water in unlimited freedom. All of the river’s wildlife bowed down because of his glory.

Loneliness seemed apprehensive at first about living so close to such fellowship, but the park was warm, secluded, and rich in resources. He said it would make a fine place to start a family. From their nest, Married and Loneliness could hear the lovely warbles, whistles, and trills of their neighborhood and Married longed to be able to join in with the community and get to know each and every one of the birds. She desperately wished she could express her own sentiments, but instead, unable to sing, she stayed out of sight envying the other birds. After all, everyone knows Tree Sparrows have no true song. Plus, she knew that Loneliness wanted his wife to be focused only on him.

Protecting her from all possible intruders, Loneliness proudly maintained the most sheltered nest he could. He fluttered around it constantly, keeping it safe. As he dedicated himself to earnestly fulfilling his duties of monopolizing Married, she peeked out over the edge of the nest wondering if she would ever be free to explore River Acres Park and escape seclusion. She dreamed of becoming a mother and having something special, something precious, something important to do. Maybe then she would be a part of the lively community she now called home. Then one day her dream came true when a small clutch of two pale-grey and heavily speckled eggs lay underneath her. It wasn’t long before the eggs hatched and the Tree Sparrows welcomed two perfectly soft and fluffy hatchlings. Married named them Meaning and Purpose. She was so proud of her hatchlings, she doted over their every need.

One morning, in an effort to see what all the avian commotion was about, Married slipped away. She hid in the foliage of a Cypress tree rooted in the shallow water along