She called him her “Mr. Steady.“ She would write it on love notes, address him by the endearing moniker, and even occasionally refer to him as such when talking with others. The husband God had given her was in every way her opposite — but Wisdom knew that his calm, introverted, and consistent nature would be a wonderful complement to her enthusiastic, extroverted, and spontaneous spirit.
When Eric and I first stepped into full-time ministry, I was completely unprepared for the spiritual attacks that hit us full force. Financial difficulties, false accusation, health problems, discouragement, and exhaustion became a normal part of our lives.
At first glance, his life seemed like a dismal failure — his untimely death a senseless waste. Robert Jermain Thomas was a strong, well-educated, talented young man who left for the mission field in China with his wife in 1863.
My fingers glided over the small, wooden jewelry box, tracing the cluster of painted florals that graced the top. I noticed one of the hinges was broken, but that didn’t stop me from gingerly lifting the lid to peek inside to see what treasures lay within.
The late afternoon sun shone joyfully as I hovered over my garden starter trays, seeds cradled in the palm of my hand. It was one of those birth-of-spring days when summer-lovers like me are unwittingly taken by daydreams of summertime dancing through our minds, seemingly gaining momentum with each passing glitter of sunlight.
The joys of learning that Leslie was pregnant for the second time came as such a beautiful and profound encouragement in the latter months of 2006.
In the midst of a season of strange attack upon our lives, this joy-filled news was a shot of pure spiritual adrenaline into Barracks 28.