A Tribute to My Wife

Joyce with guide,
Connie, before disappearing
 into the Montana
Rockies for 8 days

I miss my wife. I missed her terribly. Her 5:30am flight out of Augusta was canceled.  We both teared up thinking her dream trip was doomed.  We will never book a flight out of Augusta again! 

 

Fortunately and after prayer, she was rebooked and confirmed out of Atlanta for her trip.  I took her to the Atlanta airport to go on her Montana Rocky Mountain wilderness adventure on Friday, July 25. She arrived in Missoula, Montana that night.  One of the guides picked her up Saturday morning from the Marriott, and they drove to the trail head that begins the Bob Marshall Wilderness. They saddled their horses and along with three pack mules and five staff personnel, her group set off for the adventure she has longed for.

 

She'll return August 5th. That's 11 long days. I say long days without her. It's the longest we've ever been apart in our thirty years of marriage. I thought I'd be OK. I encouraged her to go. "Fulfill your dream.  Seize the moment while you've still got your health. I'll be all right."

 

She deserved a break. She works hard. She's a Proverbs 31 wife. I don't deserve her. Out of God's overflowing grace and mercy, He brought us together.  For some reason unfathomable to me, she said, "Yes," when I popped the question. I was a broke, broken preacher. My life had collapsed. I was selling cars and serving a small rural church near Augusta, Georgia, when we met. She was a nurse.  Good job.  Good benefits. She owned a home and a car. I owned nothing. She said, "Yes."  Even after thirty years, I still can't believe it.

 

I have to confess. After all, they say confession is good for the soul. I have to confess I take her for granted sometimes. I just assume she'll always be there for me.  I don't show my gratitude and love like I should. You see, not only does she work as a nurse, but she runs the household too. I try and pitch in, but she does the lion's share or should I say the lioness' share of work around here which allows me to write, study, minister to my church, and teach part time at a small Christian school.

 

Bob Marshall Wilderness
Chinese Wall. Joyce will be
camping on the summit

Joyce wanted to get away. And what a place to get away to. She wanted to feel the creation and majesty of God speaking through the mountains, gurgling in the clear mountain streams, and whispering through the forest trees. She wanted to count the stars. Hear the silence before drifting off to sleep snug in her sleeping bag. She wanted to eat cakes on the griddle beside the morning campfire. And, she's finally doing it. Or should I say "being it."  For such an experience is not doing but being, renewing, and worshipping.  I imagine it's as close to heaven as a person can get.

Sorrow and Joy

Who hasn't experienced sorrow?  It is the knife that pierces our soul with the blood of tears flowing like waterfalls from out wounded emotions.

I have seen the strongest men weep. I have wept with them in their despair. I have cried in funeral sermons I've preached. And, I have wept from the painful losses I've experienced. Who hasn't experienced sorrow?

Sorrows like sea billows roll over us. Sadness and grief overwhelm us. We become as helpless as a baby. Everything secure is shattered into a thousand pieces.

There was a time in my life when I lost everything. I lost my job, my career as a full time pastor, and my family. I cried and couldn't turn off the tears. My mind said, "Stop!"  It my emotional pain from he injury and loss I suffered wouldn't listen to my rational voice. I couldn't sleep even though my body was tired. When I was able to sleep, I slept in fits and starts awaking and hoping that it was time to get up. Sometimes, I'd just get up anyway and pace the floor.