A prudent wife is from the Lord...

Years after I married my first and only wife, Mary Lee, I came across a verse I didn't recall noticing before, Proverbs 19:14:

House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

As I read this verse it hit me that, during the days when I'd decided to marry Mary Lee, I'd been in rebellion against God. Yet He had not forsaken me. Instead, out of His faithfulness and mercy, He had led me to love and marry a woman who was (and remains) everything I could ever need in a helpmate--a prudent wife.

On this her birthday I praise God for His gift of Mary Lee to me. How excellent she has been for me! There are many things I could mention, but two are particularly worthy of public mention.

First, as a pastor I've often been in a position where a decision needed to be made that might well cause a decline in our income or the necessity of moving to a different church. Yet never in twenty years of ministry has Mary Lee ever pressured me--even to the slightest degree--to think about our money or job security as we made those decisions. Thus it has always been clear to me that Mary Lee fears God--not man.

Second, Mary Lee has never complained about having to sit under my preaching. Many pastors have wives who are relentless in their criticisms and complaints about their husband's preaching, but I've never had this discouragment. Rather, Mary Lee has been a faithful encourager to me, precisely in this work, and has chosen not to allow my sin to be a stumbling block of bitterness or cynicism each Sunday as I proclaim God's Word to her, our children, and our congregation.

If it occurs to you the next time you are speaking to our Father, please pray that I will love my wife as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for Her. And pray, also, that God will give you that gift that your father and mother cannot give--a godly and prudent wife.