At just the right time...

Today I’d like to share part of our family story through a belated Mother’s Day blog. Not because I want to brag about my wife (although I am absolutely crazy about her) and not because I’m a cheap skate that should have probably done more for yesterday’s holiday (although that’s a fitting description as well), but because I’ve observed some sweet qualities in Brittany that are pictures of the gospel.

My wife and I came into our parenting roles in some different ways. When we first met, she was an unmarried youth ministry worker and grad student and I was a single father of three. While neither of us were looking to find each other, it soon became clear that the Lord had intentionally merged our paths. As dating turned to courtship, it became evident that her love was not just for me, but also for the posse of three I was hanging with.

Later when Brittany said yes to my proposal in Breckenridge she knew she was also saying yes to and accepting the high calling of parenthood. She chose to make her heart vulnerable to love and nurture without any promise that would be reciprocated by the kids. Her sacrifice and devotion to us came without conditions. She gladly partnered with me to care for and mother without any guarantee of what might be returned.

Perhaps that’s why it has been so cool to see Brittany earn the right to be called “mama” by our children. Without really having any say in it, I’ve always been dad, but on their own, the kids have come to see and cherish her as their mom. My wife stepped into the chaos of being an instant mother of three and the Lord is helping her to meet the task.

One of the defining moments in our relationship came for us at a kiddie park one summer evening. All five of us had loaded into a small cage on one of those nausea-provoking rides (you know, the kind that slingshots you back and forth while simultaneously spinning you around as if the goal is to re-create the puke scene from Sandlot).

Anyway, as the ride started to pick-up, our middle-child, Chandler, became terrified. He was dizzy and felt like we were going dangerously out of control. The problem was that there wasn’t a stop button we could push from inside the cage – no eject lever to deliver us to safety. As Chan became increasingly panicked and started to cry in fear, Brittany reached out and gently held his face. She promised him it was going to be all right. “Just look at me – I’m right here – you’re going to be okay,” she kept saying. As the ride intensified to its climatic speed, Chan’s fears were slowly quieted by the tenderness of a beautiful blonde. As he focused on her face and trusted her words, all the craziness seemed to disappear.

As I’ve thought back on that moment on several occasions, each time I’m not only reminded of why I treasure my wife, but I recall how deeply we’re loved by Christ. In the hectic seasons of life, He makes Himself known and gently calls us to look and trust upon Him. Jesus gladly enters into the muck and mire of our chaotic mess! He loves us unconditionally and works for our good whether we rightly respond with love and gratitude or not. He sacrificed His will for the greater will of the Father so that through the work of the cross we might all experience the fullness of our adoption through faith (Romans 8:14-17, Galatians 3:24-26, 4:4-6). He

As I share my heart with you today, I ask that you’d not hear me boast in my wife but rather in the God that has so richly blessed me with her. Brittany’s words and actions encourage me daily to look to Christ as my soul is filled with thankfulness. May we see the gifts of creation and realize they’re pointing us to the Creator. While a belated mother’s day card is often considered better late than never, finding hope and a new lease on life through Christ is always…well…at just the right time! 

Proverbs 31:28-29

 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 

“Many women have done excellently,
 but you surpass them all.”