My wife Dee was recently selected as one of the 100 Great Nurses in Iowa for 2011. She was honored for her excellent work in the area of Infection Control at the Spencer hospital and will be invited to a special event in Des Moines May 1st. I am, of course, extremely proud of her. She has quietly gone about her business for nearly 14 years, providing compassionate and innovative care to patients and offering creative and wise leadership in many areas at the hospital.
Most people at First Lutheran know Dee as "Pastor Bob's wife" and see her as a great compliment to the work I am called and paid to do. I don't think the congregation ever knew what kind of 2 for 1 deal they were getting. Dee so willingly shares in my ministry and the work of our congregation. But how many people really know what Dee does for a living, working 13 miles away in another community, sometimes removed from the issues and affairs of the Milford/Iowa Great Lakes area?
Her work as a nurse affords her an opportunity to express her own unique calling and vocation. The people she encounters on a daily basis provide her many opportunities to share God's gifts. She ministers hope and healing in ways I could never do sitting behind a desk or hiding behind a "clergy collar." She is out in the trenches, slugging it out with some of the nastiest infections and diseases know to humankind. She is the resident expert on all the really "bad stuff," that left unchecked, could really make life miserable for a lot of people.
As one who finds himself in the public eye/limelight often (it goes with the territory), Dee is one who faithfully works behind the scenes, doing great things and making a difference in a quiet and unassuming way. I am so very happy for her and appreciate her many gifts now more than ever before. I knew when I married this farm girl from West Central Minnesota, I had truly hit the Jackpot! God blessed me with a life mate who has compassion, wisdom and real backbone.
Congratulations Dear...Behind ever good pastor is a really GREAT nurse!
Your admiring husband,
Bob
And I celebrate HER with you!
ReplyDeleteYou did marry well, Bob. :-)
SHE IS A GIFT! Bob, You And I Bothe "DONE GOOD" and are both BLESSED MEN with the wonderful wifves God gave us!!
ReplyDeleteKARL