by Erica Lee
I was brought back to reality by a high pitched voice in the distance. “Mommy!” my rambunctious two year old daughter yelled, as she ran toward me. I put my arms out so she could jump into them and swung her around in the air. I turned to see her mom and brother following closely behind. Seeing Faith brought a smile to my face. It was crazy how she could still have that effect on me after all these years. It certainly helped that she currently had the pregnancy glow going for her. She laughed as our four year old son darted right past me to go see his Aunt Susan.
When she reached me, she leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek. “You look tired. Tough day at the office?”
I sighed. “You have no idea. I just don’t know what to do with these kids who act…”
“Just like you did in college?” Faith asked, cutting me off.
I smirked at her comment. “Exactly.”
She gave me an encouraging smile “You’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah mommy. You’ll figure it out,” my daughter repeated.
I laughed at both of them, although I knew they were right. I had to figure it out. That was my job now as the head track and field coach at Belman University and had been for the past four years after Coach R retired and wrote a reference for me to become the next head coach. Two years later when the old jumps coach decided to retire as well, Susan was hired.
I took a deep breath and looked around, thinking about all that had happened since I was in college. About three years into dating, I had proposed to Faith at her special playground. Within a year, we got married at the church where we first met and still attended weekly. Susan liked to joke that she couldn’t believe we had waited four whole years given what we could finally do once we were married, but it was totally worth the wait. Completely exploring Faith’s body and giving myself over to her on the night of our wedding was more beautiful than words could ever describe. Although it wasn’t nearly as beautiful as watching her give birth to our two children and with our third on the way, our little family was almost complete.
Don’t get me wrong. Our life wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. It was a series of ups and downs, filled with failed pregnancy attempts, poopy diapers, and plenty of arguments, but we got through it all with lots of love and constant prayers.
I had learned that this crazy, mixed up world would never be perfect, but it was my world and I liked it that way. It’s true what they say. Faith really can move mountains. It just so happens that the phrase doesn’t just work in reference to God, but also to my beautiful wife.
