Saturday afternoon, my sons and I partook of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (that's confession, for those of you who aren't up on the 'proper sacramental terminology'). And, as he is often wont to do, my priest gave me, as my penance, to read and meditate upon the scriptures for this Sunday's liturgy, which included this passage from Proverbs 31 (vv 10-13, 25-26, 28-31) -
When one finds a worthy wife,
she is far more precious than jewels.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,
has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil,
all the days of her life.
. . .
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
. . .
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."
Charm is decietful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
I won't go into detail on precisely what I confessed, but it was astoundingly appropriate that my penance should include a meditation on the excellent woman whom God has given me for my wife. It's like this entire chapter of Proverbs, which is usually taken as a kind of 'idealized' portrait of a godly wife, was written by someone with detailed knowledge of Molly's life. She really is, and has been since I've known her, 'far more precious than jewels'. And, as I've entrusted my heart to her, she has shown herself over and over to be 'an unfailing prize'. And she has certainly brought me good, and not evil, every day since we've been married.
I know, I know, it's not like this is breaking any new ground here on this blog; I've been singing my wife's praises around these parts from the very beginning. But, when God goes to all the trouble of confirming the message from the Scriptures, and in a sacramental context, no less. . . well, I have to pay attention to it, don't I?
11 comments:
One thing I don't know if I've mentioned to you before, is how much I love reading about you and Molly- specifically, the simple and obvious love you have for her, that you're willing to share with us.
Share,in the greatest sense of the word, I think; you share with the world how it *can* be, and *should* be, between a couple that cares for one another.
I'm fascinated that she went all evening without mentioning the underwear bit. See, that's impressive secret-keeping skills. If my wife ever went without underwear (and she won't, but, you know, if she did), the cat would be out of the bag right away.
The cat would be out of the bag. Man, I crack myself up.
just tell me, with kids who are older than mine.....
they don't rise up and call us blessed until they've run out of all other adjectives do they? (why, yes, i AM the mother of 3 teenagers, however, did you guess?)
all joking aside. the relationship you and molly seem to have created is what i always aspired to. i know you have your issues like every couple does but there is a foundation of love and respect and playfulness that is beautiful and that so many people lack.
That rocks Desmond! (the whole post and Molly's comment).
And yeah, I'd have let the cat out of the bag about 5 minutes into the evening. But I also read endings of books when I hit page 40 or so. Maybe your priest can hook me up with some scriptures on patience!
Heh...oh, FTN...
Seriously, if I did such a thing, the cat would have to cancel her plans and not even get out of the house.
At least, that would hopefully be the plan.
I, too, love reading about you and Molly.
I also think she's one naughty, naughty girl for not wearing panties to CHURCH. She rocks.
:)
Sailor - Thank you; you are very kind. Of course, 'what I'm willing to share' is the key parameter, isn't it? But, Trueself will tell you, what you see is what you get with me. . . ;)
No, we know we've been given something very precious. I don't know if me sharing some of it here encourages others, or if it all just seems too 'other-worldly' to be helpful. . .
FTN - Actually, as she told it, the whole 'no-underwear' thing was sorta 'semi-accidental' (do other wives 'forget' to put their underwear on?). And we spent much of the evening either in semi-crowded situations, or on opposite ends of the room, so there weren't as many opportunities for her to tell me as she might have hoped.
And, just for the sake of saying so, I suppose, both times that she's gone out in public sans panties, she's worn a floor-length dress, so the risk of any, uh, 'exposure' was pretty minimal. Just, you know, for the sake of your imagination. . .
And, I thought the whole idea of the 'no-underwear' thing was to (*ahem*) let the cat out of the bag. . .
Lime - Yeah, our kids have 'risen up and called us' all sorts of things. But just hang in there and wait for that magical 'Mark Twain moment', sometime after they leave home, when all of a sudden you get really smart again. . .
And thank you; you are also very kind. . . 'Love, respect and playfulness' can go a long way. . .
Cocotte - But, when you let the cat out of the bag 5 minutes into the evening, don't you have the problem of what to do with the bag? I mean, do you just wad it up and stuff it in your pocket, or what?
And listen, if you want to come confess your sins to my priest, I'm sure he'll come up with something for ya. . .
faDKoG - Suddenly, we're running a surfeit of 'cat' jokes. . . And the funny thing was, that such 'plans' as Molly had for, um, 'the cat', were for Sunday morning. . .
Flutter - Well, I love reading about you, my dear. . .
And, uh, the auction was actually held in the parish hall, which is a completely different building than the Church. So it wasn't as 'naughty' as it might have been. . . But, she most definitely rocks. . . ;)
First Therese taking her panties off in public and now Molly not wearing them at all. What's with these Catholic girls?
:o)
Phyllis - It's a 'Theology of the Body' thing. . . ;)
And, just speaking on my own behalf, I'm MUCH more impressed by Therese's feat of public panty-less-ness. . .
And speaking of Therese/RS, it did occur to me that the downside of going commando at a parish fund-raiser is that, there are really no good, available 'meet-me-in-5-minutes' type places. . .
Desmond/Molly, you're about the ONLY MARRIED couple I know in the world who share such a phenomenon kind of love and passion still, especially after being married for 30' some years?
It's the kind of a relationship I hope to have someday with my husband when I get married. But since it's all doom and gloom every where I look, I worry that I may not be in the 1 in a million category, to which both you and Molly fall.
Kep doing whatever it is that you do, however way you do it lol!
Anonymous - Hey, thanks for stopping by!
And God bless you, and your future husband, whoever he may be!
I certainly understand your apprehension. And, if you've read much of my blog, you'll know that there are no guarantees. But there are some things you can do to 'improve your odds'. Email me, thru my profile, if you're interested. . .
To quote from a song by Paul McCartney ('We Got Married', from the Flowers in the Dirt album) -
"It's not just a lovin' machine; it doesn't work out if you don't work at it."
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