Happy Birthday, Beloved

 "To find an exceptional man means to find a man who brings about a correspondence with what you are longing for, with the need for justice, truth, happiness, love. Something truly exceptional is divine: it has something divine in it. If not, it really doesn't bring us closer to God. "Exceptional" is synonymous with the word "divine." Julián Carrón

Today is my husband's 47th birthday. We met nearly two decades ago, at a Thanksgiving dinner in Statesville, North Carolina. We will have been married 18 years in September. Those of you who have met my husband know he is a loyal, funny, smart, devout, handsome and hard-working. And a fabulous cook.

Who brought him to me?

To truly love and  be loved by another is to get a glimpse of divine love.



My best friend and I vowed to stay together in sickness and in health, in good times and bad. And we have had our full share of all life offers: the loss of two children, the serious illness of a third, financial hardship and material plenty, a beautiful home, a loving community, his near death in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and the palable joy we both feel in the privilege of both being able to watch our sons grow to manhood.

As I write this, my beloved still at work. He said he wants nothing for his birthday except  to spend time with me. I can arrange that.