Husband and Wife

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:24 KJV)

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:4-6 KJV)

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. (Matthew 22:30 KJV)

I first met her in church, but I don’t remember the exact circumstances. I do remember the second time, for that’s when she said:

“They weren’t certain for a long time, but the doctors said it must be Alzheimer’s. I don’t know what to expect.”

She was so calm. The opposite of my own panic thinking of a disease where loss of ‘self’ is inevitable. She remained calm as bits and pieces of her memory and ability slipped into oblivion.

Her taste in clothing was timeless, her suits reminding me of Chanel. It was a painful blessing to visit with her at church as the disease progressed. Every once in a while she would appear concerned as she ceased to understand. She always looked lovely, her husband going the extra mile to achieve her “look” before leaving home.

A teen volunteered to spend time with her, giving her husband a respite each week. As children would, they played dress up, returning a smile to her face as she inappropriately selected a variety of clothing.

One day a simple fall resulted in a broken hip and the hospital care turned into a full-care facility stay that has lasted years. Her husband’s faithful attendance to her there gave new meaning to:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 KJV)

For that is what he has done for this, his best of friends. His years of loving kindness as her husband have not changed as he cares for her daily in their remaining years of marriage. They are (literally) at the top of my prayer list, for the loving faithfulness of a godly man; for strength and support for the care he gives; and for her comfort and rest.

I am grateful to have seen this example, a reflection from God’s love for mankind:

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19 KJV)