I Have Been Married To The Same Lovely Woman For ...

I have been married to the same lovely woman for over 25 years. That’s 25 years of eating together, laughing together, crying together, holding hands, sleeping together in a queen sized bed.

A couple of weeks ago she left one Saturday afternoon to spend a Mother-Daughter week in Puerto Valarta, Mexico with our firstborn. I expected a call from my wife that night which was very late (well after midnight) in coming. Even after the call -- and the "miracle" of her familiar voice though a thousand miles away -- I tossed and turned all night long. Our bed felt like an empty, lonely, unfamiliar and alien place. I tried sleeping in the guest room, and then on the couch -- no better. My body, mind, heart and soul longed for my wife’s familiar presence.

I also learned something about my relationship with God that long night. The Spirit seemed to remind me of Psalm 68, and as if He were speaking, the Lord asked: "When did you last toss and turn all night awaiting My call? How long since your soul thirsted, and your body longed for My presence?" I am sure that is what God wants his children (and what the Bridegroom wants his bride) to feel when we wander from His intimate presence as well. "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you ... on my bed I remember you; I think of you through the long watches of the night ... my soul clings to you."