take 2: january 13th – inside/out

Hi Sweetheart,

It’s just after dinner on Thursday evening.  Where do I start?  What a day.  Thank you for being so supportive when I called, that was such a blessing.

I had been reeling from the day’s events and the decisions weighing on my mind.  Being able to talk with you is what I had craved.  You are my partner, teammate and best friend…and I just wanted to dicuss things with you.  Oh how I miss just being able to talk with you, in person and face to face.  I value your opinion and input and feel lost sometimes because I don’t have you with me.  God joined us together, so it feels foreign to not be near to you.  Your reassuring tone and words of encouragement, like the confirmation I had made the right decision regarding the chow sever role, were exactly what I needed.  Nothing else could satisfy that feeling of longing that I had.  Thank you for loving me and being the strong shoulder when I needed it.  I was barely keeping it together, so close to tears.  My emotional state was not very steady, that is for sure. 

Now that I think about it, I wasn’t much of a support for you.  I think I monopolized the situation with my needs and never fully got to hear about your day.  Sorry sweetheart, didn’t mean for the phone call to progress that way.  Please know, though, that I will be praying about the outbreak on the campus.  And that you will be spared any of the discomfort and suffering associated with it.  Actually it’s kind of like a mini disaster effort with everyone banding together to take care of the those afflicted.  I think you mentioned the rapid response of the Gatorade team.  Let the folks know the Bible Study will also be praying for them.

And once I hung up the phone I felt a great sense of peace and confirmation.  It is such a gift for me to be a man/husband to know that his wife is proud of him and 100% behind him.  But that gift can be achieved if the man is whole heartedly seeking God’s will in every decision.  What I am trying to say is that I cherish your love and suport, it means the world to me.

And as an added confirmation that I had made the right decision on the chow sever job.  I had two people wanting to talk to me immediately when I got off the phone.  It took it as a sign that God was reaffirming my role as a sort of counselor here to these guys.  Plus I had already had two other guys approach me earlier in the afternoon wanting to talk.  I’m learning and growing too.  An example of God’s divine wisdom.  And that’s what really excites me anyway, listening to their cares and concerns and then offering them suggestions/advice based on Scripture.

I got to share with Cannon my joy in having a wife of noble character.  He and I are good friends and close Christian brothers, so he’s heard me speak of you often.  And as I shared with him my desire to talk with you and my need to discuss issues of my day with you, his image of Christian marriage came into clearer focus.  The husband honoring the wife, and the wife honoring the husband, working through issues of life, each fully trusting in God’s perfect ways.  What a neat thing for a young, single Christian man to be able to see.  You may very well be a yard stick by which he measures his potential mate.  And that, coupled with prayers, will get him the wife of his dreams!

I have a couple more stories to share, one with Tony and one with Arturo, but I’ll have to share them tomorrow.

Hold on…they just moved Carlos to another tank.  I knew he had been without a cellie for 3-4 days, but I never even thought they might move him.  Wow, what a shock.  This is going to leave a big whole, this is going to hurt for a long while.  I watched him walk out the door and I still can’t believe it.  As he left I stopped to offer up a prayer for him.  I pray that he is well received and that they see the benefit of the many things he brings to the table.  Man, this is hard.  I worshipped every day for the past four months with this guy.  I am really going to miss him.

I’ll write more later, I have much praying to do before I go to sleep.  Thank you, once again, for loving me so well.

I love you,  Scott

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