I intelligently didn't bring a hat or earmuffs, so Bev was being my earmuffs.
God's help for me on this earth. I found it. And her name is Beverly.
Most people take offense at the idea of a wife being a helpmeet because they don't understand it. They feel it is demeaning. But she is not my little helper placed here to do my bidding. She is the kind of help that "I lift up mine eyes to the hills" for. She is the kind of help that comes when you dial 911. She is the kind of help that I can't get where I'm going without.
As a kind of reminder to me of what kind of help she is, God has allowed me to compare how things went when I did things before her versus how they go when I do things with her. The equations that I see are simple.
Without Bev = things are passable, ok (I'm not incompetent...generally).
With Bev = successes are multiplied in quantity and magnitude
“She is the kind of help that “I lift up mine eyes to the hills” for.”
How about some real life examples. I'll start with the seemingly insignificant. You can check out my Instagram page ( @_the_rob_ ). Rob posts a video of him singing. 160 views and 22 likes, which is a 14% likes to views ratio. Rob posts a video of him and Bev singing. Immediate jump to 245 views and 63 likes (these numbers double when you add in the numbers from her account where it was posted as well) which is almost triple the likes and a 25% likes to views ratio. (Do NOT judge me for that calculation I like numbers get over it).
Ok this is a small thing. I get it.
So how about this. Before Bev, Rob runs a youth drama team, and he writes and puts on a full length stage production for a youth ministry. The response is good, and the attendees enjoy the show, and there are some worship moments after. The next year, Rob runs a youth drama team with Bev, and they put on a full length stage production for the same youth ministry. At the end the stage is filled with 30+ kids responding to the invitation to Christ. And to this day the actors who were in it still quote lines from that show.
God uses Bev to make me better, and the outcome is uncontestable.
And here we have some jellyfish.
But not only does she strengthen the performance of my assignment, she also makes my burdens lighter. When I am burdened beyond the point of functioning (whether I should be or not), I don't think she always feels confident about what to do. But she doesn't fuss with me or prod me to talk. She doesn't dismiss me or give me unwarranted advice. Bev sits with me. She simply exists in the same moment as me. And if I want to talk, she listens. And all she does is be who she is.
She may not know this, but I'm going to say it here anyway. Simply who she is has the power to lift my spirits when I cannot lift them myself. When she is around, I just kinda start to float, higher and higher, despite myself. She makes me better, she makes me lighter, and she lifts me higher, no matter how heavy I feel.
Does she fill the space that God is supposed to fill in my life? Of course not. "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust," (Psalm 91:2). My strength is found in the joy of the Lord.
Does she fill the space in my life that God custom made for her? Perfectly. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord," (Proverbs 18:22).
We're not married yet, and I already see the favor she adds to my life. I just hope I can serve and lead her as well as she loves and helps me.