Tim isn’t one to say “God told me…” very often.  In fact, it’s only happened once that I know of.  Before we were married, before I was even willing to consider the possibility of marrying him, was the one time that he felt sure God spoke to him.  And what was it God said?  He told Tim to take care of me.

I don’t think he told me about it at the time, or if he did, I probably scoffed a little.  I’m sure I didn’t think I needed to be taken care of.  I’m sure I thought that the wife was supposed to take care of the husband.  I’m sure I was clueless.  Tim, though?  He took it as a mandate on his life and has been faithfully walking it out for more than thirteen years.  I am regularly stunned by my own inability to make life work…in big ways and little ways, I am continually confronted with my insufficiency.  And almost as often as I recognize my failings, I see in my husband strength and persistence and grace poured out to me in measure that I can’t quite fathom, and of which I am completely undeserving.

This past week we were all sick, with fevers and congestion and body aches and coughing.  Tim was just as sick as I was for a couple of the days.  But, while he insisted that I not do anything (and while I could not imagine having enough fortitude to even stand, much less be productive in any way) he took care of us, sickness and all.  And when our hot water heater stopped working, he figured out the problem and set about getting the necessary replacement part and fixed it, sickness and all.  And when our furnace stopped working, too (!), he again figured out the problem and set about getting the necessary replacement part and fixed it, sickness and all.  True, by the time the furnace issue came up, he wasn’t quite as sick as at first, but still.  Still.

These are the times when I see even more clearly just how much I need to be taken care of, and just how far Tim will push himself to make sure that I am taken care of.  I was telling him, one of the nights this past week, how I can’t imagine doing everything he was doing while feeling so terrible.  His reply was simply, “God told me to take care of you”.  And when he reminds me now, scoffing is the furthest thing from my mind.  I’m just thankful…so, so, so thankful…that God knew what I needed, and that Tim listened and continues to live it.