It came from a former student of mine - a young lady that now works for my wife in our college library. Over the past week or two, the library has been moved from its old cramped space to a beautiful building which includes a 24 hour computer lab and a on-site cafe situated near a fire place.
During the school year, my wife supervises 20 students - as she is responsible for the circulation department and the computer lab. During the summer the number of students is greatly reduced, but so is the work load.
My wife completed her move this week. For the first time in her life, my wife has an office, a real office, of her own. Not a cubicle, not a desk set up with a three other desks - an office with a desk of her own that is not shared with anyone else.
To help her celebrate the move, I had a dozen roses delivered to her office. They came in a bright red vase that goes well with the cherry wood finish on my wife's desk.
And that is when it came, the complement. She said it to my wife - "You and your husband have the example of the perfect marriage." Now, if she had just met my wife, we might question it. But this student has known me for two years and my wife for a year-and-a-half.
Do we have the perfect marriage - no way. If you knew us 20 years ago, you would have thought we we had the marriage least likely to survive. At that time, both my wife and I wished the other one would leave - but we were both too weak to leave. And then God started working in our marriage - and we started working at our marriage. It was 17 years ago that a mutual friend commented on our marriage that she never had never seen a couple work harder at their marriage. I don't know if that is true or not; but whatever work we did, has paid off. Do we have the perfect marriage - no way. What we do have is a good marriage, one I am proud to be part of and one I enjoy being part of.
But there is another lesson to be learned. And it is this - we are being watched. Our faith is being lived out before others. We have no idea who is watching, but others are watching our successes and our failures. I wonder what else I am teaching others as I live my life. I trust that I set an example that will draw others to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
much we need thy tender care;
in thy pleasant pastures feed us,
for our use thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus!
Thou hast bought us, thine we are.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus!
Thou hast bought us, thine we are.
Attr. to Dorothy A. Thrupp, 1779-1847
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