Recently John and I decided to enjoy the warm summer sunshine by taking a walk. We navigated some distractions, and an hour later actually walked out the door with three small children.

After only a few minutes we realized the sky was more dark than clear. We tried to ignore the threat and kept walking, until it started really pouring. John ran home, and I trailed with the soggy kids, when he came back with the biggest umbrella we own.

It felt so cozy to squish all five of us under it, our little haven against the storm. I felt loved and safe. We are the shelter for each other against the storm of life's gales. Sometimes that reality gets blurred, and we begin to see each other as the source of our tempests, instead of the protection from them. An umbrella is a symbol of the safety that you intended all along to be for each other.

We invite you to thank your spouse in person, by email or on the phone about a time when you have felt safe in each other's love.

"I will abide in your Tabernacle forever, I will trust in the cover of your wings." Psalm 61