My Wife, My Partner

As I was lying in my rack last night, reading my Bible, it dawned on me how intelligent God truly is. I am the type of person who can not be alone. My parents have always told me stories of how I could entertain myself for hours on end as a child. That’s not the case anymore. Somewhere I stopped being able to function for myself. Alone, I am a complete mess. I would eat macaroni and cheese for every meal. I would never sleep at night and then sleep all day. I don’t even know how to put into words how hopeless I would be on my own, and I’m reminded of that everyday that we are out here.

In 2002 I met a woman in Pensacola Florida who is the exact opposite of me. She is driven, strong, and beautiful and could take on the world by herself. She is the only woman I know who could handle raising four children by herself, while her husband is on deployment. Not to mention the fact that at times her husband probably makes her feel like she has five children! My wife Kate has been many things to me. My closest confident, my drill instructor, my reality shock, my friend, the mother of my children, and as I came to realize last night, my partner. Hand picked by God because of the character traits my wife would need to live the rest of her life with me. She has to be strong, because when four kids are crying because they miss their dad it takes a strong woman to keep it together. She has to be driven, because it’s easy to lose focus when you’re overwhelmed with responsibility. Imagine being a mother, a father, a housecleaner, a chef, a gardener, a dog trainer, a pool technician, a sports coach, a counselor… Do I really need to go on or are you getting the picture. When I am gone my wife does everything. I couldn’t do it. If my wife left me with our four children for six months, I would wither into a corner and drown in self pity. But not my wife. My wife keeps me in check when I feel sorry for myself out here. She softly reminds me to keep my head on straight by her example, and when that doesn’t work she’ll slap me in the back of the head. God knew her heart long before he created her, and he knew that she would be my wife. He hand picked her to be my partner, just as he crafted Eve to be Adam’s partner, because he could not live alone.

I’m writing this because realizing the simple fact that my wife was hand crafted to be my life partner by God himself has made me cherish her that much more. No woman could ever be more perfect for me. I love my wife with all my heart and soul, and I love God like a child who has been given the perfect gift. He made her for me, and I can never pay back that debt. I miss her so much, but I know that my home is in very capable hands, and that if my wife ever doesn’t know the answer, God does. It is hard to be out to sea, away from your family and friends. It pales in comparison to the job my wife has. Thank you Kate for everything you are to me. Thank you for loving me, regardless of my faults. Thank you for being my homeport, my lighthouse to guide me back when I drift off. Thank you for being an incredible mother to my children and thank you for being my partner.