I thought I should dedicate this blog post to the person who might well be referred to often in our culture as my "significant other". Nowadays, when marriage is downplayed, or ignored outright, or there is no longer any restriction on who can marry whom, in a sort of "mix-and-match" approach to marriage, it's a convenient way of referring to the partner of the person we're speaking to, when we don't know their actual civil status. "Partner" is another term used, but that sounds rather business-like, which I think pretty well describes the way many look at marriage. I recall the first time that situation struck me, when the director of a major hotel came to speak to me, and in passing mentioned his "partner". I confess that we were several "paragraphs" further along in the conversation before I realized he wasn't referring to a professional relationship, but a social one, his choice of lifestyle.
Episode 4 of the podcast IN TIMES LIKE THESE, "How Foolish Are the Wise", I deal more at length with the fact that men today can have husbands, and women can have wives, which is further complicated by the fact that women can be men and men can be women or both or neither. You can consult that podcast, and I won't belabor the point here. What I will say here is that I believe in marriage, and I am proud to have a wife who is a woman, and she is a "she" and not a "they" or "ey" or other invented pronoun. And as of next week, she will have been my other (better) half for 56 years.
Without her, I would not have accomplished what I have, I would not be who I am. We have 4 children, and believe me, Abbie is more than a "birthing person". She is a "mother" and there's far more to being a mother than just giving birth.
So, as we approach our 56th wedding anniversary, I offer these flowers to honor her.
Full disclosure: she arranged them herself. But what I said is true, these flowers are an honor to her. And they are an honor to God... they will be the floral arrangements for the church in September. The monthly flower arrangements in the church are her offering to God, her use of the gift God gave her. They are evidence for the argument I make in "How Foolish Are the Wise" against those who say there is no God or deny that we are His special creation. Where is the challenger from the highest level of intelligent animal life who can match such precise, intelligent arrangements? I myself would not attempt to challenge her.
Among the things I've learned about Abbie over the years is that she's not real keen on games...card games (my family's favorite pastime at reunions), or dominoes (church game nights). She modestly demurs, tries not to get roped into playing, says she doesn't know how to play. But I've learned that if there's one thing worse than playing one of those games with Abbie, it's playing one of those game against her. Beneath that image of a simple person, who doesn't like to be the center of attention, there lurks a sharp and perceptive mind. And in this "game of life", I need her on my side and at my side, "for as long as we both shall live". Yes, my wife is a woman, but more importantly, she is the woman of my life.
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