I want to take a few moments to brag on Mary Lu since it is her birthday today!
She has a natural ability to communicate care and respect for others that quickly endears her to those we meet anywhere in the world. She loves to cook and often befriends women in kitchens, both indoors and out wherever we go. She sees women who serve in difficult situations; she doesn’t just notice, she doesn’t just acknowledge, but she sees them – and they know they have been seen. And then she hears them, asks them to tell their story. Then she honors them by asking them to be her teacher and they laugh together as Mary Lu struggles to learn tasks that they accomplish with ease.
Mary Lu loves deeply. It’s alarming at times, how deeply she loves, how generously she cares, how passionately she protects. With family and close friends she is all in – not considering the cost, not looking for excuses or exits. She responds to our joys and tragedies as if they were her own. She has an unusual capacity for empathy that allows her to enter into our experiences viscerally. And then her love turns to action, for what she feels viscerally she prays for tenaciously.
There is a profound strength to her. Those who have been under her leadership know it – whether in ensembles, classrooms or on the stage. Some interpret her care and concern as weakness, but soon discover that she still knows how to lead a classroom, a rehearsal or a team of peers with confidence.
After 32 years of marriage she still surprises me with her courage. She doesn’t look back, she doesn’t doubt, she doesn’t resist. Skydiving, bungee jumping, white water rafting, zip lining, wilderness camping (no bathrooms!), running a marathon, leading worship for thousands – she has done it all. And yet she is just as content to serve behind the scenes, mentor one-on-one, care for her family, go overboard with her granddaughter, cook, bake, clean, walk and read. She can be selfless. She makes me mincemeat pie every Thanksgiving and Christmas even though she won’t eat it, a carrot cake for my birthday even though it’s “too much work!” and she even makes me Brussels sprouts on occasion – one of her least favorite foods!
At 55 she doesn’t hide from her age, either. Mary Lu decided to live fully alive, knowing that today is the youngest she will ever be – and to smile at the future!
I am so blessed to call her my wife and to do ministry together around the world!
Enjoy the photos!
