Well, one of the most important days of my year has arrived.  It is currently one degree outside, which is actually a heat wave in contrast with yesterday’s chill (-17 degrees).  But my dear princess loves warmth – so where George Bailey offered to lasso the moon for his sweetheart – I’m thinking of lassoing the local weatherman and forcing him to change his weather forecast to sixty-nine and sunshine.  

But no matter the temperature, we are going to have a wonderful day.  This is a day when the machine of industry must stop, the distractions of ever-multiplying emails must be silenced, and the always ringing cellphone must be ignored.  This is my dear Leslie’s birthday, and it only comes around once every three-hundred and sixty five days. 

I’ve never really blogged about my love life with Leslie.  I guess in some ways I feel that my love life is already chronicled inside fifteen different books.  I mean what could possibly be said in a blog that could outpace When Dreams Come True or, for that matter, Meet Mr. Smith? Those books are loaded with the Ludy romance gene. 

But, even at risk of repeating something that was mentioned in a previous book, and of falling short of the romantic bar already raised, I’m going to venture out afresh and let the world know what I think of my wife. 

I truly believe that Leslie is the perfect woman.  And, yes, that could be understood that she is the “perfect” one for me.  But I would like to go beyond that and claim that I think she is what femininity should be.   She is merely a thirty-three year old version of this feminine grandeur – and I’m mystified to think what the eighty-five year old version will be like.  I’m convinced that it was a girl like Leslie, somewhere in history past, that originally inspired the phrase, “she takes your breath away.” For this thirty-three year old brunette is something to behold. 

So what’s her beauty secret, you ask?

Well, it’s a combination of things.  She possesses a feminine dignity, a mystique, that is lost today amongst women.  She is not flippant with her soul, and she doesn’t trifle with anything that would diminish the priority of her King in her life.  She lives with a royal bearing (not a haughty bearing, mind you) and there is a humble yet regal sense about her.  She carries herself as if she is in fact the Bride of Christ. 

Leslie is a very private girl.  She is not one to naturally stand up on stage and she doesn’t prefer the limelight.  However, because she cherishes her Lord above all things, she has allowed Him to nudge her out into the open and to open her mouth and to speak boldly the difficult truths of His Kingdom.  She has audacity and tenacity in spades. 

My girl has been attacked from every corner for what she has stood for and for the femininity that she demonstrates.  And yet, with great calm and grace, she just continues forward unabated, undeterred.  She is a marvel of marvels – demonstrating the meekness of a lamb and yet the grit and ferocity of a lioness.  She is kind of an Audrey Hepburn, Amy Carmichael mix.  She has a poise, decorum, and stylish grace, but she isn’t motivated by externals.  Rather, she is fired by the wind of God upon her soul and carried forth with Gospel thunder. 

The places that Leslie shines the brightest, in my opinion, are in the arenas of life where no one ever sees – her intimate relationships with me, her children, and her precious Lord. 

Need more be said about how she has loved me and how she has made me the man that I am.  Her desire in my life is to make me a Job-chapter-29-man, to plead in prayer for the very real life formation of this and to do whatever practically she can to see that my voice is established at the gate.  I am ever humbled by her tireless dedication and her astounding love. 

Watching Leslie with her kiddos is like taking a peek inside the throne room of grace.  Our kids will be world-changers because they have a mother that is hourly wrestling in prayer for every little detail of their lives and is pouring out her very best energies to see them thrive in an understanding of truth and righteousness.  She is so very tender with them, so powerfully a picture of our God. 

But what makes Leslie, well, Leslie, is her communion with her King.  More than anything she craves her time in prayer, her time in intimate fellowship with her Lord.  This is her beauty secret; this is her clandestinely acquired key to unlocking the vast possibilities of heavenly femininity.  She sits with her Master, watches with Him in the Garden, and He shares the riches of His Kingdom with her – and she emerges radiant and full of spiritual energy to squeeze all the juice out of life today.   

I am not just a blessed man.  I am the most blessed of men.  And I challenge any and all to attempt to prove me wrong.  I am very possibly the happiest man alive. 

December 16th is a day to celebrate this great reality in which I live.  I am a man who has found a truly virtuous woman.  And I am a man emboldened and ennobled to fight an epic battle because of it.  There is just something magical about an amazing godly woman that puts fire in a man’s soul, strength in a man’s fist, and a grrrr in a man’s throat. 

It may be only one degree outside today, but don’t think the Ludy household will be suffering from cold.  We are warmed by the ever-present glow of a world-altering woman of God. 

So, what’s the weather report for inside the Ludy homestead today?   I’m glad you asked.  It’s sixty-nine and sunny, with a high probability of some serious amounts of hugs, kisses, snuggles, and love pinches moving in. 

Here’s to the greatest wife in the entire world!

Happy Birthday my Love!