What a Man Does

Husbands, love your wives,

just as Christ loved the church

and gave himself up for her...

Ephesians 5:25

In our house it looks like this, lately:

• Holding your wife's hair back while she vomits repeatedly.
• Massaging her back and praying for her even when you are sleep deprived yourself.
• Caring for the children alone and reminding them to "let mommy rest."
• Going to the store for Poise pads because your wife is so sick she cannot cough/vomit/sneeze without wetting her pants.
• Taking out the trash full of those used pads without complaint.
• Seeing past all the disgusting body fluids and telling your wife she is beautiful and that you love her.
• Praying with your sons for their mommy when she can hear you. Praying with your wife when your children can hear you.
• Being a pillar when you are rear-ended by a car three times your own cars size.
• Handling all the details with the insurance company while still managing to communicate with your wife so she won't feel anxious or worried.
• Grocery shopping, diaper changing, laundry, lather, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.
• Staying home from work to care for your family even though you have a big conference to prepare for.
• Knowing that it will raise the water bill but still being supportive of your wife when she takes 5 showers a day just because it is only thing that makes her feel better.
• Shopping for a new car seat all by yourself after the accident. And then installing it. By yourself.
• Staying up at night with your wife because her fragile, pregnant body is reacting badly to her new medicine.
• Checking on her every time you hear her in the bathroom coughing up her lungs.
• Offering to make food, tea, water bottles, etc for your sick wife.
• Choosing "chick flicks" at the library instead of war movies because you know your wife could use the distraction.
• Watching them with her and rubbing her back.
• Kissing your wife on the forehead every night.
• Driving your wife to Labor and Delivery because she hasn't felt the baby move all morning.*
• Taking care of all the paperwork and the children while she gets hooked up to an IV for fluid.
• Taking the children out of the hospital before they go crazy and buying them Strawberry Pop Tarts because it is the dad thing to do.

I could list all the ways Geary has given himself up for me in the past eight days forever but I think you get the idea. He is an amazing husband, my best friend, a model of Christ's love, and a true man. I am honored and blessed to be his wife and when I get over this horrible, horrible sickness I am going to pay him back so good!

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*The baby is fine, by the way. Turns out all my cough medicine was just making him extra drowsy.