Happy Birthday, My Bride

Happy Birthday to my bride!

I don't know why. But, I've been incredibly blessed to be married to a woman who is truly one in a million. Ouida's heart is set on seeking, hearing, and following the Lover of her soul. She has confronted many fears and found faith to keep walking. When we got married, Ouida had in mind that we would have a small family of only three children. I was thinking of maybe two or three. But, it seemed like Father kept calling us to have "one more". Ouida struggled with fears about childbirth, pregnancy, and taking care of each of them. We had more than 12 children but only 12 were born. Ouida is a true mother who has laid down her life for her children.

As the years went by, we began to feel that our heavenly father was guiding us toward something different in education. After various public, Christian and cooperative schooling attempts, we ended up home educating. This was a huge challenge for Ouida and was a great motivation for prayer. She has always wanted and sought the very best for her children. This has often taken her out of her comfort zone and beyond the boundaries of self-imposed limitations. Ouida is a diamond among grains of sand.

We have prayed together many times about many different things. Many times, she has prayed for me when I've been stuck for hours on some problem at work and, strangely, things seemed to clear up after a bit. We've prayed together seeking God's direction on many decisions such as whether to move into Christian community in the country, how to educate our children, whether to get rid of the TV, how to handle relationship problems, where to seek Christian fellowship and how to handle the challenges that children bring with them. My bride is a wonderful prayer partner.

I don't like to travel alone because I've experienced how much fun I have traveling with Ouida. A trip to China to visit our daughter would seem like a waste if I couldn't share all the experience with my bride. She gets excited about things I might not notice otherwise. I remember with joy the experiences of riding in taxis to unknown destinations, walking the streets of Shanghai, and trying out our hotel's foot massage business. She has also learned to travel into the unknown challenges of camping. They were unknown to her because she had not grown up with camping experiences. Tents, rain, cold, no showers, and babies to feed and take care of. Who wants to sign up? Ouida did. We've gone camping almost every summer for close to 30 years. We couldn't have done it if she hadn't embraced the experience and done all the planning and organized all the preparation required. Many say they couldn't or wouldn't do it. But, her work, camping supplies list, DayTimer, and camping preparation crew gave us camping experiences that profoundly blessed our family. Ouida is a rare and wonderful camper.

It's on her birthday this year that we begin to move into the new house we've been building. Ouida has been intimately involved in and prayed over everything about this house. We want it to be a place of ministry rather than just a place. When building a house, one wants every detail to be "just right". But, many details will have problems. Compromises are also necessary to meet the sometimes conflicting requirements and desires. Several neighbors have complimented various things about the house. Much of the appearance, layout and materials have been the target of Ouida's prayer, searching and discernment. Her sense of what looks good is much better than mine. Ouida is a builder.

I love you, Ouida. May the Father bless you with much fulfillment in ministry, rich family interactions and deep personal relationship with Him this new year of your life.

Happy Birthday!!

Psalm 24:3-4