Subaru's and Mary Katherine

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.” Proverbs 31:10 NIV

This week there was an ice storm directly over the area I was working in. Driving got pretty hazardous Monday morning, but by evening everything had melted. This made driving on pavement easier, but it turned country roads into soup. I was on dirt roads almost all day.

When I headed home it was dark. The highway runs near a train track. I needed to cross that track to get to the highway, but a train was stopped on the track. I drove north knowing that I would eventually find the end of the train and could cross at the next spot. I did just that but was quickly reminded of the road soup. Roads in that area intersect every mile, so if you are on a bad road, it will likely be a mile before you turn.

The roads were terrible, probably the worst mud I have driven through. You know how that goes. If you stop, you are stuck. There is also no place to turn around, you have to hit the next road and hope you pick the right direction. In pitch dark I proceeded. I drive a Subaru and I had confidence. I fishtailed the entire time. I could not see past the beam of my headlights but I had confidence in my car. I managed to make it through three miles of road to finally hit pavement. That Subaru is a beast.

It's a long story to make a point. My wife’s birthday is today. She is one of the more unique people you will ever meet. She cares for people like no one else, she can’t help herself. We are coming up on 32 years of marriage. When she fell in love with me it was without evidence. I had not accomplished anything. I just told her we were going to make it. She believed in us.

If I had told her that after 32 years our life would end up where it is – I think she would have been mostly convinced. If I had told her about all of the mud, I am not sure my sales pitch would have been successful. If I had told her how hard some of it had been I would not have blamed her for running.

Men trust in many things that do not deserve it. Jobs. Income. Boats. An NFL team. Friends. A freaking Subaru. But in all honesty of all of the things I trust – she’s it. We may struggle. We may be headed towards a ditch. We have ended up in some. We may not be able to see where we are going. There has been exhaustion. There has been hurt.

But… There was that first tiny little apartment in Arkansas. There is that brick ranch on 29th street. There have been friends. There have also been kids. There is now a granddaughter. There has been laughter. I could literally fill this page. There is hope. There is peace. There is beauty. There is love. Unquestioned love. There is her hand to hold and I have every inch of all five fingers memorized. The absolute best blessing God has ever put in my life has been and continues to be her. Happy birthday sweet wife. I love you with all my heart.

What do you trust? Who can you trust with the very breath in your chest?

Husbands, how often do we tell them? They already know we need them, but we should tell them that we know it.

Challenge: Looking at the ordinary day to day and not forgetting how extraordinary a human can be.