Tuesday, August 25th, 2020. 6:00 PM
[revised on August 27th, 2020 beginning at 3:27 AM]
It was 3 months ago today, on May 27th, 2020, that you called me, Eileen; and we had a pleasant conversation for about a half hour. I think of you every day, Eileen. I have sweet thoughts of you. I imagine sweet conversations between us. And I’m thankful to God for providing someone sweet for me to think about and imagine I’m writing to her or just talking to her; or just thinking about her — like Shelly Fabares’ “Johnny Angel.” She sang that song in 1961 — that was the year you entered St. Charles School in my 4th-grade class. Sister Mary Danette was our teacher.
Shelley Fabares – Johnny Angel [Full Video Edit] 1961
Eileen, I Have a Nearly 12-Year-Old Valentine’s Day Card
In still-perfect condition —
The receipt, too
And the envelope
Purchased on January 12, 2009
At Walgreens at the corner of Clinton and Cumberland Streets
At 5:54 PM.
Andrew was the cashier – according to the receipt
The ink is slowly fading on the receipt, but, still visible
My love for you, Eileen, is not fading
Like old wine it just keeps getting sweeter and deeper and better as the years go by
The first words at the top of the red and black card begin like this:
“To My Love, My Soul Mate
This is more than a Valentine’s Day card,
Much more than
Some little wish
Could ever be . . .
It’s the first time
You placed
Your hand in mine,
It’s a kiss under
A moonlit sky,
Slow dancing
To our favorite song . . .
[page 2]
It’s the way your spirit
Found mine,
The way you open my mind, my heart,
My soul . . .
The way you fit so perfectly in my arms . . .
It’s that place,
That time with you –
Your skin next to mine,
The shivers
From your touch,
The taste of your lips . . .
[page 3]
Yes, this is more than
Just a Valentine’s Day card,
It’s easy laughter
And good, good loving . . .
It’s everything you are to me . . .
And then some.”
-Hallmark Mahogany
Eileen, I wonder what our favorite song is?
Maybe any true love song could be our love song.
Thinking of this one, now: I really like this song.
Mary Black – The Dimming of the Day
I do remember holding your hand as we walked along the seashore from Sand Hill Cove back to George’s Beach one summer afternoon during the summer of ’74. That walk with you was the most memorable and lovely walk of my life.
Stranger On The Shore ~ Acker Bilk [HD]
I do remember our first kiss
It was in the car at 116 Glen Road right in front of the walkway leading to the front door
It was late at night
We had just come back to Woonsocket after seeing The Beach Boys at The Providence Civic Center
In May of 1974.
You told me in the car how much you really enjoyed that Beach Boys’ concert.
Your appreciative words encouraged me to give you that first kiss as we said goodnight in the car.
My favorite song and your favorite song might be different, Eileen.
In fact, I suppose there are many favorite songs in my heart
Maybe, someday, we will know and agree on what is our favorite song
I do remember the very first time you ever spoke to me, Eileen
It was in the evening at Cold Spring Park in Woonsocket
As the twilight was darkening the park
We were quite young
It might have been the summer of ’62 when we were only 10 and 11 years old
We were not at the park together;
However, you must have recognized me from our first year in the 4th-grade together at St. Charles School
You just said, “Hi.”
And so, I just said, “Hi” in neighborly reply to you, my classmate
That was our first brief conversation, ever . . .
I still remember it – 58 years later.
MEMORIES by Elvis Presley (including lyrics)
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of – Carly Simon
Wednesday, August 26th, 2020. 1:35 PM
The following may seem to some that it does not belong in this romantic story — because it is about spiritual things — things that are “out of this world.” However, there really are things that are really “out of this world” — spiritual things that are really real and really of Eternity — rather than temporal [as the things of the world are temporal] — things such as the kingdom of God and eternal life — things that natural folks just don’t get — until they believe the Word of God and are born again — and receive His Holy Spirit, by-Whom-only the eyes of our understanding begin to see the things that only the Spirit of God can make visible to our understanding heart — and only then do we become part of the new creation — and enabled to participate in the divine nature and enjoy the power of an indestructible life that is only found in Christ the Anointed Son of God.
I realize that the above paragraph is a digression from “Eileen’s Valentine;” however, unless we go from the merely natural to the spiritual, life is very disappointing and may seem meaningless or even cruel; however, if we truly believe in God’s Word, our lives can find real hope in the Savior, the Son of God. And we can look forward to actually being regenerated and living in newness of life in a regenerated Creation in the kingdom of God, as His children.
About ten years after “the summer of ’74” had come to an end, I met Eileen again by chance encounter. It was at the library. I didn’t know Eileen was there. It happened like this. There was this huge dictionary on a pedestal in the center of the main library room — where the staircase at that time led up to an upper room. And I had come across a word in my reading that I had never heard nor read before. The word was soteriology. So, I went to that big dictionary on the pedestal in the center of the Library to look it up and find out what it meant. And as I was beginning to turn the pages of the dictionary, someone walked up to me and said, “Hi Mark. What are you doing?” It was Eileen. It was the first time I saw Eileen since “the summer of ’74.” In understatement at seeing her again for the first time in so many years, I just replied something like: “Hi Eileen. I’m looking up a word in the dictionary.” I may not have told her what the word was — since seeing her again overshadowed what I was doing; however, as I was walking home later, I was thinking that it might be very significant that Eileen approached me at the library just at that moment; and asked me what I was doing. The meaning of the word soteriology is: the doctrine of salvation.
I wonder if God brought about this encounter with Eileen at that One Moment in Time at the library at the dictionary at the center of the room.
Jesus at the Center by DARLENE ZSCHECH
Another thing that seems significant to me about Eileen and “the summer of ’74.” On the night of June 19th-20th we spent the night together. A few days later, it occurred to me that my parents wedding anniversary was June 19th. And this year of 2020, I heard a word I had never heard before: “Juneteenth.” It refers to June 19th. It is a holiday commemorating the emancipation of the slaves at the time of the Civil War in the United States of America. It used to be called Emancipation Day.
Salvation is about freedom — spiritual freedom in Christ. Until we become free in Christ, we are slaves in bondage, God’s Word tells us.
Galatians 3-4:10. NIV.
Freedom
Darlene Zschech – Victor’s Crown (with Lyrics)
Dana Winner – One Moment In Time – live [Lyrics] HD | Liefde Voor Muziek | VTM
“But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” -Jude 20, 21. NIV.
“And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.” -Hebrews 7:15, 16. NIV.
Hebrews 7-13. NIV.
And so, this story that begins as a love story turns into a combination of love story and faith story that is based on the Holy Scriptures and the living hope we may acquire in believing in the gospel of Christ.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
“To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
“Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.” -1 Peter 1:1-12. NIV.
1 Peter –[chapters one to five] may be read entirely by going to the link below:
John 14-17.
Eileen — and everyone who reads this: God bless you with the faith of Jesus Christ — so that you may receive and enjoy the eternal blessings of Christ, the salvation of your souls.
This Kingdom | Hillsong (Featuring Darlene Zschech)
Mark's Imaginings 
One thought on ““Eileen’s Valentine””