The Worth of a Man

Pete came into my life at a crazy time.

My parents were in the process of getting divorced.

When you've pretty much worshiped the ground your Daddy walked on all your life, and then watched him knocked off that pretty pedestal you put him on, it pretty well leaves you reeling. I was in shock.

Biggsy and I had only been dating a month or so when my world got rocked. Poor Biggsy was already in too deep. He was stuck. His hard-and-fast rule about not dating girls with baggage flew out the window.

What I didn't realize up front that I was getting a package deal. Not just this great boyfriend, but a family that went along with him. A family that would offer me the stability I wasn't getting at home.

They took me in, and there is no way I can tell you just what that meant at that time -- and in every moment since.

It wasn't that Pete replaced my Dad. Not at all. He's been more like a bonus than anything else.

The quiet strength of this man makes it easy to see how Biggsy grew to be the man he is.

We've had our moments.... Like when he realized the Creek house was going to be painted anything but white if I was doing the painting. Or this summer when we both were terrified that Abbie was about to be run down by another boat in the middle of the Creek -- with our boat paralyzed by the tow cable wrapped around the prop.

For the last 13 years, Pete and Jacquie have quietly, assuredly filled a space in my life that needed to be filled.

Tomorrow morning Pete will have one of those angio things done. The kind that involves the heart and arteries and stints. I'm asking you to pray big prayers for this to be successful.

We need this man in our lives for a long time to come.