| Genesis 2:22 – “And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.” |
My nameless friend and I were in the grocery store parking lot. We had just arrived. And were in the middle of a conversation. She had been telling me what her most prominent memories were of growing up on a farm in Cayce, Mississippi, in an orbit of Memphis, Tennessee. One of those memories was the special treat of the family going out to eat at a popular cafeteria. She especially loved all the pie slices lined up, and how hard it was to select one amongst the many good choices. “What are my three favorite pies? We have been married for . . .how many years now? 36? Me: “We are in our 37th”. Her: “36 years. You should be able to name them. You should know”. Now I suddenly feel like a college student being given a Junior High math test. I was going to be humiliated if I didn’t pass. Me: “Chocolate”? Her: “Chocolate MERINGUE! What else”? Me: (starting to feel my armpits dampen) “Coconut Creme”? Her: “Yes. What else”? Me: (can I possibly get three?) “Red Velvet”? Her: “PIE! That is cake. I did not grow up eating Red Velvet cake”. Me: “German Chocolate”? Her: (laughing like she was having a dental gas applied) “CAKE! My favorite PIE”?? Now I have nothing to lose. I have blown it. Her: “It starts with a P, and it’s not pumpkin”. Me: “Your eyes are brown”. (They are not. I hoped to distract her). Her: “PECAN!!! I always ask for Pecan at Christmas when the PTA gives us pies”. Hopefully I can ace the next quiz and improve my grade. I once heard a man say he was working on his doctorate in knowing his wife. I have some work to do if I ever want to get mine. I have this recurring dream. I am back in college, feeling like I don’t belong. It is the end of the semester, and I notice a class on my schedule that I had overlooked. How will I ever graduate? I wake up feeling that anxiety and failure. When I get overwhelmed, I try to go back to basics. God loves me. Father in heaven, thank You for my wife. Help me to learn her. In Jesus name, Amen!
- Jeff Beall
