I am doubly blessed in February. During this month I have an opportunity to celebrate my love for my wife, Lise, twice. Once on Valentine’s Day and once on her birthday, February 26th. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote a beautiful poem where she counted the ways that she loved someone. In typical preacher fashion I will try to summarize why I love my wife in three brief points:

1. I love her because she is loyal. If someone has Lise as a friend, they have a friend for life and a friend they can trust with their lives. Her loyalty as a disciple of Jesus, a wife, a friend is fierce and unshakable.
   Her loyalty is a reflection of her true beauty.
2. I love her because she is a woman’s woman. Feminine, complex, nurturing, all the great things that men love about women, my wife possesses. However, she manages to fuse these into a personality that is not defensive about being a devoted homemaker.
   While many others of her generation continue to seek themselves or redefine their mystique, my wife rejoices in Christian motherhood and the challenge of creating a happy and peaceful home.
3. I love her because she is generous. Paul describes the spiritual gift of “liberality” in Romans 12:8. Watching Lise has made me understand that this gift is the ability to give effortlessly, graciously, inventively, spontaneously as well as generously.
   She has taught me what giving is and I love her for it.

Space, and not reasons, is why this article is limited to only three points. I’ll have to tell Lise about her honesty, humor, desirability, intelligence, etc., when I see her in person. Until then, “Happy Valentine’s Day” and “Happy Birthday, sweetheart, ‘I love you.’”