The other night I was feeling sorry for Jimmy. In reality, I was feeling sorry for myself and my melancholy kind of morphed into also feeling sorry for him. I was laying on the bed, my spasms were pretty wild, and he was fighting hard to get my legs through their range of motion exercises. If you wonder what that is, click on this link for a video.

Jimmy had worked really hard all day and was exhausted. It was late and he was tired. He was not used to a nail gun at work and had run a nail into his wrist so his arm was hurting. I asked him to please skip the exercises to help his arm. Like always, he wouldn’t hear of it. He is so loyal and dedicated to me. I both adore that and get frustrated at him as I don’t think I could ever be as good as him if the tables were turned.

As I lay on my back, watching his tired face as he struggled with my legs, I just felt sad. Sad for me, sad for him, sad for paralysis, sad for this nightly routine….and my thoughts started swirling in my head. As my thoughts stormed, the rain started pooling in my eyes. I choked back the tears and got up my nerve to ask him my heart’s question.

“Honey, did you ever think this is how your life would be? That your wife would be paralyzed and this would be your life to help me like this?”

I waited…desperate for his answer. I needed his answer that night.

He leaned down and kissed me.

“No, sweetheart. This is not how I imagined my life. But I could never imagine my life without you so this is just fine with me.”

He said the right thing. He definitely said the right thing.

 “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” Proverbs  I5:23