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Key Bible Verse: Many waters cannot quench love; neither can rivers drown it (Song of Songs 8:7). Bonus Reading:Genesis 29:14b-20

John Wooden, whose teams won 10 NCAA championships, was the first person inducted into the Hall of Fame as both player and coach. He pursues excellence to meticulous detail. His staff spent two hours each day planning practices that often didn't last two hours. No leader in sports is more solid than Coach Wooden.

And he is just as steady and true in retirement as he was in the noisy spotlight of college sports. Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated describes Wooden as "quiet as an April snow and square as a game of checkers; loyal to one woman, one school, one way."

True to Wooden's nature, on the 21st of each month he sits down and writes a love letter to Nellie, his wife of 53 years. Once he's shared his heart with her, he carefully puts the letter in an envelope and places it with the others in their bedroom, all neatly tied with a yellow ribbon. So far, there are more than 180 of those love letters. And they remain unopened. You see, it's been 15 years since his beloved Nellie died.

I suspect that the first time he misses writing one of those letters, it will be because he is delivering the message to her face-to-face.

—John Maxwell in The Right to Lead

My Response: Like the coach, I'll find a way to honor my wife this week.

Thought to Apply: Married life is a marathon. You will need the determination to keep plugging. Only then will you make it to the end.

—James Dobson (broadcaster)

Adapted from The Right to Lead (J. Countryman, 2001) by permission.

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, give me fierce determination to protect my marriage—and tender love to makes it a joy.

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