Caring – Al's Painting and Poetry

Forty-two years ago, this month, a miracle began in my life. A lovely, intelligent, and gifted young lady became my wife. Just prior to our wedding, I wrote the following poem called the Treasure Chamber.

The Treasure Chamber
By Al Vester

The ruddy glow of life ran from the ruby walls
Into the swirling darkness of the outer entrance hall.
A tune is singing softly, a pure and simple call,
To beckon someone worthy to come within the hall.

Come, behold the treasures earned by years of work
Of faith, integrity, honor, and courage not to shirk.
For within this ruby hall with ivory beams over-bending,
Resides a heart that’s filled with hope, a soul that needs befriending.

Come my bride, my joy and life, open doors to exaltation;
Come within and be my wife by a priesthood coronation.
God’s the one who lit this chamber, built its throne and made its treasure.
All that’s good is His and mine, and now through Him it shall be thine.

Why choose marriage?

It always seems miraculous to me that women can and do put up with men. Most women are softer, gentler, and more emotionally connected with the world around us. Continue reading “Marriage, the miracle of separate beings becoming one”

An early morning flight from a dark and rainy airport into the light of early dawn above the clouds became a metaphor in my mind of our heavenward journey.

Upward Flight
Al Vester

Dark and gray is the night
            As we first board the flight.
Then up the dawn sky
            Like the first birds to fly
Up through the clouds
            Those layered white shrouds
That hide earth below
            And all that we know
Of old sorrows and fears
            As we wipe away tears.
Then bursting into light
            We behold glorious sights
Of blue, pink, and golds
            As all heaven unfolds
Brighter still as we climb
            Where the sun starts to shine
Appearing whiter than white
            So intense is the light
As in visions of old
           Where holy prophets foretold
Of our God on his throne
            There all our trials are known.
Where our faith and our love
            For our dear Savior, above
Allow his mercy to claim
            And in great joy we remain
By His throne, we will stay
           On this great endless day.
Gone are darkness and clouds
            Along with death and its shrouds
Freed from sin and its stains
            We will sing the glad strains
Of praise for the love
            Of our Father above.

Life’s fog

So often we seem like wanderers in a dense fog, not seeing more than a step or two ahead. It becomes easy to forget about the clear, bright skies that shine only a few hundred meters over our heads. Nevertheless, our lack of vision does not negate the fact that the sun shines brightly above us or that there is a God in heaven. Continue reading “The Upward Path”