Who's My Valentine

Last night we took Lcpl Tyler to Outback Steakhouse for a last hoorah dinner before he deploys to Iraq. As we sat waiting we noticed a woman buying "gift cards" for her children as "Valentine's Day" gifts for her children. After making a few jokes about the expense of the Outback gift cards the general consensus at the table was that Valentine's Day is for a person's "lover", not for a person's children. This is not meant to judge the woman who is giving such a nice gift to her children, but to focus my own thoughts toward my wife, my best friend, my traveling companion, my Dove.

Her name is Clyrinda, and she is truly the better part of me, making me a better man than I ever could be without her. God, in his unsurpassed goodness, saw fit to give me the desires of my heart, and brought her into my life. Through marriage he is knitting us together, making us "one". He has made our desires and goals similar and compatible to one another's, and focused us both on the one thing that matters.........Jesus Christ.

I would never tell the struggles we've gone through together, nor try to convey the joy she has brought to my life, but she knows what they are and she knows that I know. Daily I try to convey to her how much she means to me. That is one reason I call her "My Dove", and never I say it out of routine (as I might use the term "my dear" or "sweetheart". We've walked a long and tough road, a road which by God's grace gets more narrow every day, moving us closer together.

She has earned my devotion and I cherish her. She's my only thought when the word Valentine is spoken. She's my thoughts when I hear a love song, my vision when I think of beauty, my friend when I need someone to stand beside me. The best perceptions in all my senses are her.

Would someone please call her and tell her to read this? Just kidding.