I have a beautiful wife.
Beauty is not always in the eye of the beholder. Beauty need not be an unrecoverable, indefinable, subjective sense.
Here is one objective and biblical definition of true beauty:
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
I mention Amy here because we have had such a great week together.
You see, the kids were gone at camp.
Sam and Daniel Rylie went as middle-school campers and Carly attended as high-school dish crew.
It reminded me that a day is coming when they will all three be out of our house and on their own. Amy and I do not fear that day. We welcome it.
Will we miss them and long for them to frequently visit? Of course.
But will our house be empty, boring, quiet or cold? Not a chance.
We love each other way too much for that.
Among the many mistakes we have made in parenting and marriage one of them has not been building a child-centered home. Our home is centered on Christ. And the most important human relationship in our home is the marriage.
The longer I live as a husband and father – the more convinced I become of this fool-proof action plan:
I love my kids by loving their mother.
I love my wife by loving her Savior.
And this action plan is made more and more irresistible to me the more I grow.