Portrait of My Wife

Somewhere between "Dear David" and "Love, Carla" something of her soul is expressed through the cards and notes she has written me. Something of her soul is audible through her frequent laughter and the tears over someones trial as she speaks to them on the phone. There is something of her soul as she sits with students, encouraging them to make better life-decisions knowing they face homes bubbling with anger, desperation, rejection and failure.

Something of her soul is visible through the rich, deep colors and solid textures she has chosen to decorate the house. Even the kitchen tile speaks of solidness and resilience of her spirit to the world that would stain and mark her family. The type of furniture, casual and comfortable, even the way she has arranged the furniture, reveals something of her desire to make all who live there and visit feel welcome.

Arranged in the entry way are pictures of people and events that give her a sense of pride. These are the students and family whose lives she has touched with creativity and care. On one wall in the living room are the pictures of family, which speak of her sense of the heritage that has made her who she is today. Another wall she has encouraged the array of her family mementos. She knows that encouraging the success of others brings great joy to her world.

Her own display of mementos area smaller, but in the kitchen; it is here she feels that families come together. Her tiny tea posts and tea cups speak of desire to sit and get to know whoever walks in the door. The pictures and magnets dotting the refrigerator chronicle friends and family she never wants to forget when the busyness of life threatens to overwhelm her.

Her frequent conversations with parents, remind me of her committed love for those who raised her and their eventual dependency on her as time marches on, their strength and independence waning. Her uncomplaining chauffeuring for me through the surgery, illness, and post-accident events, show a faithful honoring of the "or worse" vows over 20 years ago.

Beside her bed are the books she reads; They reveal a woman who is a romantic, loves mystery in life, and looks for the secrets to intimacy with her Creator and Lover.

All of these are elements of a large picture. All of these things, down to the most ordinary and everyday of them is a window to her soul.

As one writer put it, "And when I pause to look, something like the morning sun streams into my soul and wakens me to everything in her that is beautiful and precious to God."

(I can't take credit for the idea of this blog. But when I read another author's work, I was inspired to look through the Window of the Soul of the one who has chosen to love me and stand by me for more than 20 years.)