Dear Melissa,

It is a sweet thing to grasp the sense of your utter dependence. The mirage of perceived autonomy vanishes at the reality of our creaturely status. We are derivative beings. Recipients. What do we have that was not given? We are products of God’s mercy. We are creatures of His grace.

And it is not enough that this reality is so. It must be recognized. How can we live in its freedom and move in its joy if we fail to acknowledge it? So how does that happen? Grace, of course. God gives us grace so that we would recognize His grace. And one means by which He does that is the richness of His goodness interwoven in the things most immediate to us (this is where you come in).

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.”
(Proverbs 31:10 )

You are my wife. We live together. We have two daughters. We sleep together at night. We wake up together in the morning. We eat together. Brave the winter together. Talk together. Pray together. And you are excellent.

You are more precious than a jewel tucked away in the depths of the ocean waiting to be discovered. People give their whole lives to that–the finding jewels. And today as you turn 24 it occurs quite dramatically to me that I have already found mine. Or more accurately, mine is already given to me. See, there is grace. Grace right in front of me that makes me recognize grace all the more.

Happy Birthday.

I love you,

Jonathan