Twenty-two years ago today I married my best friend

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”  Proverbs 31:10-12

Twenty-two years ago today I married my best friend.  I could never have imagined how different I would be now as a result of this single event.  Looking back I can see how superficial the decision was, and yet it was bathed in the grace of God.  I wanted to take a moment and honour Jill Inglin, this exceptional woman who has been my friend, companion and lover for the past 22 years.  I couldn’t find a better passage than the one quoted above.  Jill has always been more precious than anything I could imagine, though I have not always treated her so.  My heart has always trusted in her, and she has carefully tended it these 22 years we have been married.  There is no doubt that I have been profoundly impacted by her care for my soul – as verse 11 says, I have no lack of gain!  She has been a student of my life, encouraging my strengths and challenging my weaknesses, pursuing me when I was straying and embracing me when I was in despair, rejoicing with me in times of happiness and mourning with me in times of sorrow. 

By the grace of God, I have watched her pursue God with zeal and care for our children with compassion and wisdom.  I have watched her raise our two beautiful daughters, Emily & Megan, to adulthood, training them 24X7 in every aspect of life.  They are well on the way to becoming even more excellent wives and moms than Jill has been, all because of the faithfulness of God and of a mom who has expended the grace-supplied energy to pour her life into them.

I have seen the courage of her soul to take on the new challenge of raising the two adopted boys whom God has blessed us with, Eliot from Guatemala who has energy and zeal to spare, and Peter from Hong Kong with Down Syndrome, who is blessing us with a new paradigm of what "normal" is.  The past six months have been a rollercoaster ride of abundant grace and in desperate need, and Jill has once again poured all of her energy into being the mom that our boys need her to be.







And she has indeed done me good and not harm – she has been a catalyst for change throughout her relationship with me, and I am profoundly grateful to God for giving me the privilege of being married to this excellent woman, excellent mom, excellent wife, for 22 years.  I look forward to the good that she will be doing for the next year and on into the future!  Happy Anniversary, my dearest Jill!  You're my FAVOURITE!