Fifty reasons why I love her

Here are 50 reasons why I love my best friend, Cindy, who turns 50 today. You can count them if you like, but trust me, there are 50. The verse fragments that are mixed in come from 1 Corinthians 13, the J. B. Phillips translation. Here are the nifty fifty, in no certain order.
She is beautiful. In fact, Cindy is the best looking 50-year-old I know. She has a great sense of humor, evidenced by the fact that she laughs at my jokes. Many people don’t (have a great sense of humor). She loves our children. Cindy is a great grandmother … or, a grandmother who is great. She cares for needs in the church. Not easily offended, she looks for ways to overlook it when others do her wrong. Cindy sings or hums when she is happy, and sometimes when she is not. She went to Carolina, and though she doesn’t care about the teams like I do, she still cares … some. A little. Cindy helps me with my columns (except this one; this one is a surprise), and with my sermons. She is a great listener. She is able to give tough love when needed. Cindy reads voraciously but eats carefully, and is intentional to make sure her family eats healthy, too. She loves good music, loves Holden Beach, and loves to go on long walks with me. Cindy does not notice when others do her wrong. She is slow to lose patience.
Cindy will cry during sad movies and laugh out loud until it hurts during funny ones. She is particular about keeping a clean house … but this does not paralyze her from having people over for a meal and good fellowship around the table. Cindy goes on a weekly date with me. She also has good friends she loves and keeps up with. She has a great alto voice and harmonizes beside me every Sunday in church. She has overcome her fear of public speaking, though it would not be in her top 50 things to do on her 50th. Cindy is faithful to pray when someone asks for it, and she does not keep an account of evil. She shares the joy of those who live by the truth.
Cindy is shorter than I am, which comes in handy on the rare occasion when we slow dance at wedding receptions. She likes to drink coffee with me in the evening, decaf, and enjoys a trip to the plethora of frozen yogurt places now available in Burlington. Cindy keeps a clean house, and a clean heart. She reads her Bible faithfully and lives by what she learns there every day. Cindy has a heart to give to those in need and is willing to go overseas on mission trips with me. She looks forward to the slower pace in the summer, and enjoys picking fresh fruit with her children, daughter-in-law and grandchildren at local farms. Cindy is not anxious to impress nor does she cherish inflated ideas of her own importance.
Cindy runs three times a week to stay in shape and is planning to run her first 5K this fall. She has been the primary teacher of our children for 23 years. Cindy stands by me even when others might be looking for places to hide. She loves to worship and loves Jesus more than anyone or anything.
Cindy is my best friend and after all these years, she is still my baby girl. Happy birthday, darling.
I do, with all my heart, rejoice in the wife of my youth!