I never thought it could happen to me. But there it was, still moving, and probably in the middle of digesting my plasma. I volunteered to help at an elementary school retreat in the woods for a couple days, wore a hat the entire time, and heard other people complaining about ticks, but I felt assured I was okay. When I got home, I asked my wife to check my head for ticks; in a matter of milliseconds she found the blood-sucking scoundrel burrowed into my skull. Chelsea found a hazard that I never would have found on my own, and she has been doing this since the beginning of our relationship for me spiritually, relationally, and academically.
I met Chelsea when I started going to a new church in a town about the population size of a Starbucks in New York City. At this time, I felt deep convictions for the authority of the biblical Scriptures and the importance of the gospel, which attracted me to this solid reformed church that Chelsea just so happened to have been a member at her entire life. To win over a woman like her, I knew I had to grow spiritually and started reading the Bible more and listening to sermons online. Right from the start, before even having a conversation with her, Chelsea’s spiritual health inspires me to spiritual health.
I proposed Chelsea’s hand in marriage on August 2, 2015. I was hit by a car while on a longboard a month later. The odds were not in my favor. I received the highest level of severe traumatic brain injury, entered a twenty-eight-day coma, and yet my dear fiancé stayed faithful to me, her future husband, and faithful to God, her sovereign ruler. She lived out the marriage vows, in sickness and in health, before she was even bound to them. Chelsea’s faithfulness to me inspires my faithfulness to her.
My wife is a bit older than me. This, by nature, challenges me to mature and strive to be at her level. When we got married, we were both in our undergraduate studies. I was at Boyce College for my freshman year and she was at Indiana University Southeast for nursing school in her junior year. I wanted to graduate the same time as her, so I had to make some changes. I took classes all year long, three to four each summer and winter, and managed to receive my Bachelors of Science at the same time Chelsea received hers. Chelsea’s academic rigor inspires my academic rigor.
Whether it’s something as small as a tick or as grand as a brain injury, my wife knows how to keep me safe and love me through anything. While Chelsea does a good job at finding the hazards in my life that I am not able to find, I did a good job at finding her.
Leave a Reply