My Value

One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 31:10, A capable, intelligent, and a virtuous woman--who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls. It reminds me of my past, my present, and my future.
After our second first date (that's a story for a different day) when Kevin asked me out again the conversation went something like this:

"Maybe we can do this again sometime?"

"Sure."

“Great! I’ll pick you up in the morning.”
“What? Where do you want to go in the morning?”
“Church. Nikki, I won’t date someone who won’t go to church with me. I have been down that path before and it never works out. So, what do you say?”
“What time?”
“I’ll be here at 9:30”
“See you in the morning.”

I had been raised in a Christian home. I knew God, Jesus, Mary, Noah, Moses, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I knew most of the stories and all of the rules. I knew right from wrong. However, for the years prior to this date I had been making horrible choices, forgetting what I was taught, and doing what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. It wasn't until that night that I had even thought about the results of my bad choices or where my life was going or not going in this case.

My life was a toxic waste dump and I was the waste; nothing of purpose, nothing of worth, nothing of value. For most people having to put on the the HazMat suit before they came around me was just to much work. In the middle of this dump I was calling my life, Kevin saw my value. He ignored all the warning signs and entered the dump without a suit, not even a mask. He didn't care about my past; what I had done, the wrong choices, the wrong relationships, the wrong friends, the wrong places. He only cared about my future and it started at 9:30, Sunday, August 4, 1996.

Among all the trash, sewage, and muck he saw my worth when no one else wanted to look. I have said many times that I owe my life to him. I would still be in the dump if it wasn't for Kevin. Four months later we were married and twelve years and one child later he is still showing me that I am more precious than jewels, more valuable than rubies and pearls, even when others or myself may not think so.

How can I begin to repay him for changing my life forever? The answer is in Proverbs 31:12, "She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her."