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Key Bible Verse: Jesus repeated the question: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" (John 21:16). Bonus Reading: John 21:15–19

When Barb and I were first married, we moved to Kansas City to continue my seminary studies. She'd never really seen me as a student, at least not in "her" house. Late one night I was reading Augustine, and she came to me, slipped her arm around me over the back of the chair and said, "Do you love me?"

"Yeah," I said. "Sure, I love you," never missing a paragraph of Augustine.

Now, it's hard for a woman to go from that wonderful euphoria of a honeymoon to being nearly ignored. So she leaned farther over the chair and said a second time, like Jesus said to Simon at Galilee, "Do you really love me?"

I said, "Sure, I love you." Again, I went right on reading.

And then she asked me a third time.

"Sure, I love you," I repeated, getting a little exasperated. "Your mother loves you, the world loves you, and I love you … and I'm busy."

It's the only time in our more than 40 years of marriage that I've heard her swear, using the single word "Toad!"

—Calvin Miller in Into the Depths of God

Adapted from Into the Depths of God (Bethany, 2000) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Dear Father, because we live together every day, it's become easy to take for granted Your gift to me of a life's partner. Help me to suitably treasure her.

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