Just One More Reason Why I Love My Husband

If you all can stand one more sort of dog-related post, I think I’ll be finished after this. Probably.

Anyway, I really love my husband. He is a kind and gentle-hearted man, a good husband, and good dad. He also has a servant’s heart and takes wonderful care of our family, and I am honored and grateful to be his wife. This is one reason the upcoming move is such a good move, because it is allowing him to be home more than he has been able to be home in the past five years, and we are looking forward to it, let me tell you.

I am truly glad that he was able to be home yesterday. I am so grateful for what he did, and I hate it for him that he had to, but he handled the whole Oliver situation so well, and he helped our boys, too. Oliver had been our dog since before the kids were born, and I know it was really hard for Drew to have to go and fish him out of the lake and see him like that. But he did it, and he buried him quickly before the boys even knew that he was in the yard at all.

Then when he talked with the boys, he managed to comfort them without lying to them by giving them bad theology about animals. He was careful to tell them that animals do not have souls and that we weren’t praying about where Oliver was or anything now that he was buried. But that God does care for His creation, and animals are a good part of that creation and that it is good that we can have pets and love them and take care of them and that God cares that we were sad, too, but that animals were not created in God's image like people are. And then he prayed and wept and thanked God for the 12 years we had with Oliver and thanked Him for letting us know and know that he had not suffered, but that it was quick. I am glad for a man who is a strong enough man that he can show his boys it is okay to cry when his heart is hurting and to hug them when they cry, too. Because of the beautiful way Drew handled the boys’ grief and good-bye to our little dog yesterday, we got to talk a little today about how when Adam sinned, the whole creation came under a curse, and death is the result of sin. Then we talked about how Jesus died and rose again so that we could be made clean from our sin. We talked about how the pain we feel over the death of our animal is a reminder of just how awful sin is.

And Drew took time to talk to each of the boys individually last night, too. After M’s football practice, he took M around with him to take down the signs and when M asked if he could have one to keep, he gave him one.

Today Drew flew to St. Louis to meet his new boss and find us a place to live and get some information about a church we are planning to visit and go by the school where the boys will attend.

I love my husband. I respect him for the way he is able to put aside his feelings and do what has to be done, even when it is hard. And I am blessed by his tender heart toward me and how we cried together when he told me the news he knew I would have a hard time hearing and he was having a hard time sharing. This recent trial is just one example of the way he demonstrates his love for me and for his family all the time.