a prudent woman is from the Lord

House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
Proverbs 19:14

I’m pretty sure I didn’t know what I was doing when I got married 40 years ago. Just 20, I had finished college and planned to be a doctor. I’m not, at least not the kind I had envisioned. There were several false starts my wife has patiently endured. Looking toward retirement, there are probably a few more in store.

Of course I wasn’t nearly as in love with my wife then as I am now. But I made a covenant that endures, by the grace of God. I could not have imagined the treasure attached to this covenant: a prudent wife.

She asks good questions, gives wise counsel, and makes good purchases. She studies the Scripture. She seeks to know God. She has learned and is learning how to do all this better.

Not every man gets this, the prudent wife or the ability to appreciate her. For both I am thankful. Judicious, sagacious, discreet: these are qualities of prudence. I experience them daily in the constancy of a careful, thoughtful and practical woman.

Katie is all this. She gives our shared life roots and steadiness, things I need. Things every man needs, actually. Such a woman is a gift “from the Lord.”

No, it’s not our anniversary today. It is a normal day, marked by the overwhelming grace of the ordinary. I just read this verse and thought of her.

Thanks be to God.

[Comments?  What—or who—have you found to be “from the Lord?”]

If you enjoy this post, please “like” or share.  Thanks.