Whenever I look at this photo, I’m reminded why I married you.
You had cancer, underwent a liver transplant and then completed an Iron Man after that. That inspired me, wooed me.
When I first saw this photo, it reminded me that it doesn’t matter how we start out. What matters is that we finish strong.
Now, 9 years of marriage later, on the cusp of me turning a year older tomorrow, I look at this photo again with different thoughts.
You’ve traded your own goals of winning earthly medals for heavenly ones. You became a SAHD (stay-at-home-dad) because you believed in enabling our children to hit the mark in Christ.
You set aside your own pursuits for me to heed God’s call for my life…… not realizing that in doing so, you charted your own race. A race of glory, marked by His grace.
You laid down your life for us, for me.My Swazi colleagues gape with wide-eyed wonder at how you stepped up to care for two toddlers because you believed in releasing me for this mission.
In my Eswatini team lead’s words, “You married an amazing man. A man strong enough to hold his wife up on his shoulders.”
Tears gushed from my eyes, involuntarily.
“Yes, I did. He is extraordinary.”
I am the woman, the mother, the humanitarian I am today, because of what you’ve laid down, and how you’ve held me up.
Wish I was with you on my 35th, Cliff. Here’s to my halfway mark in Africa.
See you at the finish line. Love you.
