He who finds a wife

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favour from the LORD.  - Proverbs 18:22

It’s been nearly 40 years now since I first became aware of this verse. It was probably in my daily Bible reading, but it was some time in 1978 right after Mary and I got married. I bought Mary a Schofield Bible for either her birthday or Christmas and I wrote this reference on the presentation page.

I believed it, as much as I could at that time – but I didn’t really have a clue. We are coming up on 40 years of marriage and the truth of finding a ‘good thing’ becomes clearer and clearer as the years go by. At the beginning the honeymoon aspects of marriage fade away. You begin realise that your spouse is not perfect, and it is a good thing because neither are you. Then, as the years go by, the full impact of God's goodness and favour become more and more clear. Good times and hard times come and go. Joy and sorrow come and go. Happiness and sadness come and go - but God's goodness and favour continue.

After all these years the last part of the verse makes even more sense than it did then. The ‘favour of the Lord’ is exactly what she has brought, is bringing, and will bring into my life.

I can’t even begin to imagine the last forty years without her. It is wonderful that such a ‘good thing’ just keeps getting gooder and gooder and gooder as the years go by.

When I found my wife God gave me not only a good thing, but the best thing and His favour was truly shown to me.