He Makes My Heart Beat Faster and Slower in the Same Breath

Brad is away from home tonight with the church staff for their yearly retreat and planning session. Though the evening routines around the house are going as they normally would...Laura is playing the piano, the boys are engaged in some form of adventure on their computer game they received for Christmas...and the dog is running laps around the tree in the front yard...I have a rare moment to stop and reflect about the only one I have ever known who could make my heart beat faster and slower in the same breath.

When I met him in college he told me his name was Brad. A friend of his told me not to let the name fool me..."B.R.A.D. really stands for the Biogenetic Robot for Artistic Development"...I laughed...but little did I know!! I always joke and say that Brad is like the Energizer Bunny...he keeps going, and going, and going...maybe there is something to that robot thing??

He captured my heart. I feel like we have literally grown up together. I was 19 when I met him. I am now almost 37 years old...we've been married 14 years and we dated for 2 years prior to that...so I truly have been with him almost half my life!

Our lives together have never been dull, or even slow for that matter! We hit the ground running at breakneck speed...and it has only been recently, with the medical issues, that we have really slowed down and taken things at a more steady pace.

We are still learning things about each other! Can you imagine his shock..."Mr. English Major" himself to find that his wife of 14 years had never read ANY of C.S. Lewis' writings? Somehow that was a piece of information I forgot to mention back in college when he would go off to his "Inklings" meetings with the university professors and participate in the C.S. Lewis literary guild. Yes...we must have been smitten with each other really bad! I never mentioned that I didn't even know who C.S.Lewis was and he never asked me if I had read any of his writings...and really, it never came up until I became quite interested in C.S. Lewis with the new release of The Lion, The Witch , and The Wardrobe. He bought me several of Lewis' books for Christmas...and I have a new found excitement in a "new" writer.

I never can find quite the right words to say just how much I admire my husband. He has strong leadership skills. He is a father extraordinaire. He is a man that truly seeks the face of God day and night. He has loved me through 10 pregnancies and 7 losses. He has been in the labor room 3 times ...for c-sections, no less! And that says a lot for a man with a very soft stomach for blood and gore! He was a trooper!

He has held my hand through many hospital visits. We have buried our twins together. We survived 4 house fires and highly warn people not to buy used appliances! We survived an auto crash in 1998 that we had all 3 kids with us that had our van doing full spins across 4 lanes of I-35 in a rain storm. I survived an auto crash in December 2002 in which we lost another baby in early pregnancy...the road has not been easy...but Brad has been faithful and true...steadfast.

The last 5 years have been a testament to his character, especially during all my health situations to which we had no answers for at that time. He is a hard worker and an excellent provider, a wonderful husband and a faithful friend.

He is the only person I know who has the ability to make my heart beat faster and slower in the same breath. He can take me by my shoulders, look me square in the eyes...tell me to take a deep breath, calm down...slowing down my paces...and all the while assuring me "we're gonna get through this!"... He can calm me and make my heart beat faster in the same moment. I'd be lost without him!

Brad, hurry home. It is just not the same when you're not here with us!

Love, Dawn