What would be on your back?

An excerpt from The Moral Compass by William Bennett...

It happened in Germany, in the Middle Ages, in 1141.  Wolf, Duke of Bavaria, sat trapped inside his castle of Weinsberg.  Outside the walls lay the army of Frederick, the Duke of Swabia and his brother, the Emperor of Konrad. 

The siege had lasted long, and the time had come when Wolf knew he must surrender.  Messengers rode back and forth, terms were proposed, conditions allowed, arrangements completed.  Sadly, Wolf and his officers prepared to give themselves to the their bitter enemy.

But the Wives of Weinsberg were not ready to lose all.  They sent a message to Konrad, asking the emperor to promise safe conduct for all the women in the garrison.  They also asked that they be allowed to take as many of their valuables as they could carry.

The request was freely granted, and soon the castle gates opened.   Out came the ladies - but in a startling fashion.  They carried not gold or jewels.  Each one was bending under the weight of her husband, whom she hoped to save from the vengeance of the victorious host.

Konrad, who was really a generous and merciful man, is said to have been brought to tears by the extraordinary performance.  He hastened to assure the women of their husbands safety and freedom.  Then he invited them all to a banquet and made peace with the Duke of Bavaria.

The castle mount was afterwards known as the Hill of Weibertreue, or Women's Faithfulness.

I love this powerful story.  It is full of love, triumph, self-sacrfice, forgiveness, redemption and more!  The power of love!  I realize that I most likely will not be asked to physically carry my husband.  But am I making the choice to "carry" him in every day life?  Am I choosing to put him before my schedule, before my friends, before my family, before my "me time?" 

Many years ago, I promised to cherish, honor, and respect him 'til death do us part.  Is this the way that I can "carry" him?  A man responds to honor and respect, just as a women responds to love and protection.  This may explain why Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:33 that a husband must love his wife and a wife must respect her husband.  Both commands are unconditional!  Perhaps there are life circumstances that make it difficult to "carry" him with respect.  I am sure many of the Wives of Weisenberg struggled under the burden of their man.  But look at what was gained by their attempt.  Life.  Peace.  An entire kingdom. 

"Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate." - Barnett R. Brickner

Points to Ponder

If you were commanded to surrender and bring only what you could carry,

what would be on your back? 

Repentance Replants

Fear and faith.  Powerful emotions.  I allow them to play tug-of-war in my mind.  I am ashamed to admit, at times, I feed the fear instead of the faith.  I have been having a particular health issue for many months.  I have had several tests and a surgery and yet the problem persisted.  I let the fear take root, and the roots grew deeper.  I had yet another surgical procedure on May 31st.  I was awakened by the nurse warning me to call right away on the results of the biopsy they had taken from the mass that was removed.  The fog of anesthesia was still thick and murky. 

Do not wait until you hear from them, call in three days.  Do you have children?
Yes, I have three sons. 
Please, you must realize the importance of this, the urgency of this.  Call soon.  You must take care of yourself. 
The roots of fear dug deeper still. 
You will be be seeing this surgery room often.  
High risk, high risk, high risk.

The nurses firm warnings replayed in my mind over and over while waiting the three days to call for the results.  Faith kept trying to knock, but my fear would not let her in.  The call came when the boys and I were running errands.  The tears begin to fall, fear's roots lost hold when I hear the pathologists report.  Avery can not handle my tears.  Ever.  Is it the cancer, Mom?  Has it come back?  Unable to speak, I shook my head NO!!  We had a time of thanksgiving in the van, while I quickly called Clark, my parents and in-laws to tell them the good news.

I went back to my doctor today for a re-check from the procedure.  He was so happy with the good report.  I was scared for you, but didn't want your husband to know. 
It did not look good. 
Too large, too much blood. 
So soon to have trouble from the last surgery. 
I should have been giving you bad news today, but I am happy to give good news!

Tonight I am spending time with the Lord, asking for forgiveness for my doubts.  Thanking Him that grace and mercy stand waiting when I let fear dig deep, asking Him to replant faith firmly in my life. 
May it grow strong and true, regardless of the winds that may blow. 

Dad and Son

I posted this picture on facebook last week.  It is  Clark and Landry, both around the age of 6.  It is AMAZING to me how much they look alike.  From the nose, to the hairline, smile and especially the famous Presson eyebrows!  I love it.  <3 my handsome men. 

Landry's latest line that made me LAUGH...He woke up this morning with a "frog in his throat."  He kept clearing it noisily, and then saying..."Testing, one, two, three, testing, one, two, three."  LOL!