Just Right

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him." So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the opening. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and He brought her to the man. "At last!" the man exclaimed. "This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called 'woman,' because she was taken from 'man.'"     (Genesis 2:18, 21-23 NLT)

I can relate to Adam's struggle.  After God said it was not good for him to be alone, God began creating animals and bringing them to him.  Adam would name them...horse...fish...duck-billed platypus.  With each name Adam must have felt a sense of satisfaction from doing the work he was designed to do.  At the same time, there must have been a sense of disappointment...another one not like me.  I can almost feel his excitement as God brought Eve to him.  "Hey!  This one is like me!"  He had found his God designed partner for life.

I spent what felt like many years searching as well.  I would meet women who were "flesh and bone" like me. They were good people.  Each was beautiful in her own way.  I was able to see them as human beings made in the image of God.  Something still wasn't quite right.  It wasn't like the difference between me and a duck-billed platypus, but still it wasn't the right fit.  Then I met my wife.  It didn't take long to realize she was the one.  God had brought me to her and brought her to me.  This was my mate for life.

I don't understand men who tear down their wives or women who tear apart their husbands.  Traci, my wife, is my partner in everything I do.  We worked through college together.  We began married life together.  We remodeled three houses together. We enjoyed the birth of three children and mourned the loss of one through miscarriage together.  We home school our children together. We chose a church together.  We worked in ministry together.  We chose our full-time vocation together.  We moved and planted a church together and during the times it seems the "whole world" is against us, we are still together.

No, I'm not speaking of a fairy tale relationship.  We've had our "disagreements," our "discussions," and our times we simply wanted to give up...but we didn't.  Through the power of God's Spirit and enough humility on our part, we worked through the rough times...and we still do.  More and more, though, it seems the rough times are "out there" and not "in here" with our relationship.  I find myself along side my partner battling the problems that come at us, rather than battling one another.  In fact, when something does drive a wedge between us, even if it is only for a moment, it catches us off guard because it continues to become more and more rare.

That is because God created a partner "just right" for me and he created me "just right" for her.  I can't imagine anyone else in the world being able to put up with the strange conglomeration of skills, shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses that are me.  It seems like every weakness of mine is filled by a strength of hers.  At the same time, my strengths seem to fill gaps in her as well.  We fit together almost like puzzle pieces who were made for one another.  Maybe we learned to live with one another over the years making us like one, but I like to think that God was the one who created us this way...then brought us to one another in His time.