Marriage ER
When my wife called me in a panic, I realized that today was not going to be a normal day. I was definitely worried, and rushed to her work to find out what was happening. When I arrived, she was complaining that she couldn’t breathe due to asthmatic bronchitis (so we found out). So, I snatched her up and drove to Baylor Hospital. We didn’t sit very long in the ER till they called out her name. We went back and began a 5 hour long process of various procedures to find out why my wife couldn’t breathe. Finally, we sat there exhausted and learned that she had said diagnosis. I was relieved to learn that she was “alright” and it would take some time and meds for her to get over this. I thought it was over.
It was in those final moments in a sterile ER room that I thought, “Man, this is going to be expensive.” And simultaneously, I had a second thought, “You’re selfish piece of crap.” Really, I felt ashamed. I learned a valuable lesson about myself and about my marriage. See, the previous night I had been telling my small group that I wanted to be a husband like Christ, who sacrificially loved his bride to the ultimate end. Yet I sat in that ER as a fraud and confessed to God that I wanted to be a husband who’s first priority was his bride, no matter the cost. I suppose I could sum up my lesson as, there is no price tag on my wife’s health, because she is priceless.
