Yesterday marked the 19th anniversary of one of the best things that ever happened to me. As I celebrated another year of marriage with my amazing wife, some of the realizations of recent days seem to have taken on a new dimension.
It’s not the kind of thing that a man likes to admit, but the truth is that I’m a Linus personality. I’m referring to the beloved Peanuts character immediately recognizable by his ever-present security blanket. It’s probably not surprising, I’m sure, to suggest that my wife (my best friend, partner, soul-mate, or any other appropriate cliché) is that security blanket for me.
I have struggled with this idea and whether or not it is appropriate to look at things this way, but a prayerful read through Genesis 2:18-24 brought a deep and peaceful gratitude.
The the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” . . . . . The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Genesis 2.18,20-24
It is interesting to me that, after looking at each aspect of creation and concluding time and again, “It is good,” God looks at the reality that man was alone and says that it’s not good. I know this is about Adam and his need for Eve. But I also know that God could see me at that moment and make the same determination. He made a plan to provide an appropriate help for Adam . . . and for me.
I also get hung up on the fact that God said that a man should leave his parents and “hold fast to his wife.” No matter how you translate it (hold fast, cleave, be joined to, etc.), this is very certainly an attachment. Even though the world around me says that I should be my own person independent of my wife, God’s design is that we are to be attached. What I do affects her and what she does affects me. We are one. But more than that, we are custom-designed to complement one another – each one’s strengths accommodating the weaknesses of the other.
As a man who struggles (sometimes mightily) with insecurity and fear, my Father has provided for me a comfort that is perfectly designed for me. She is my security blanket to cling to when I don’t know what else to do and where else to go and how else to act. There is amazing comfort in simply knowing that He loves me enough to provide what I need in ways far beyond my understanding.
A couple of months ago I caught a James Taylor concert on the DVR. One of the songs he played I don’t remember hearing before. It really grabbed my attention because it struck an intensely familiar chord in my heart. It’s a beautiful song and one of his earliest. I am putting a link at the end of this post to a live recording of Taylor’s timeless artistry. I hope you’ll take a moment to give it a listen. But first, consider these lyrics:
James Taylor, Something In The Way She Moves
There’s something in the way she moves,
Or looks my way, or calls my name,
That seems to leave this troubled world behind.
If I’m feeling down and blue,
Or troubled by some foolish game,
She always seems to make me change my mind.
And I feel fine anytime shes around me now,
She’s around me now
Almost all the time.
if I’m well you can tell that she’s been with me now,
She’s been with me now quite a long, long time
And I feel fine.
Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning,
And I find myself careening
Into places where I should not let me go.
She has the power to go where no one else can find me,
And to silently remind me
Of the happiness and good times that I know, got to know.
It isn’t what she’s got to say
But how she thinks and where she’s been.
To me, the words are nice, the way they sound.
I like to hear them best that way
It doesn’t much matter what they mean,
If she says them mostly just to calm me down.
And I feel fine anytime shes around me now,
She’s around me now
Almost all the time.
if I’m well you can tell that she’s been with me now,
She’s been with me now quite a long, long time
And I feel fine.
Happy anniversary, Sweetie!
MikePeercy.com 
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