Grace

Sam Wolgemuth loved Grace.

There was absolutely nothing that we did as children that ignited more of a response from my father than some act of defiance or disrespect directed at Grace.  He loved my mother deeply and respectfully; and he expected nothing less from us.

Together they had grown up in an era where women were often undervalued and underutilized… but not Grace.  Sam saw in her an elegance, beauty and richness that brought her to the forefront of his life and his ministry.

My father brought out a beauty in my mother that lit the pathway for her to journey to a place of honor and esteem.  And she… quite simply, breathed a passion for Christ and a profound trust in him that filled the lungs of his soul in a way that absolutely propelled him.  He was who he was… because of the love of Grace… and he knew it.

Unique.  Different from each other.  But one.

I am so grateful that I grew up in this classroom.  That my teachers modeled what I desired… and that they lived what I aspired to.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…”  ~ Ephesians 5:25

I can picture Christ’s love for the church.  I can picture His desire to protect, care for, love, guide, communicate, inspire, encourage, elevate, and celebrate… because I watched Sam love Grace… and I watched Grace flourish.

Sam loved to serve Grace… and when, late in life he could no longer serve and guard and lead, then he withered.  I’m convinced that it was his inability to be the husband he wanted to be to my mother that drove a stake through his will to live.

I want to love Mary like Sam loved Grace.

From a position of strength, but with tenderness.
From a place of confidence, but with reliance.
From a starting point of trust, but with vulnerability.

There is a vacuum in our culture of unselfish love, of deferential service, of sacrificial care.  There is a hole… and the hole has poorly reflected on Jesus and His bride.

It’s time we reclaim this ground.  It’s time that we love Grace like Sam loved Grace.

…like Jesus loved the church.