What Is A Wife?

The bible says a virtuous wife is worth more than rubies and that the heart of her husband trusts her. Because he can trust her, his gain increases. Her husband and her children praise her, the work she does praises her as well. A friend of mine tonight asked me to help him revamp his resume so that he could begin applying for a pastoral position. When I sat down at the computer, I thought it would be a typical research project to see what goes in a pastoral resume followed by a cut and paste job with his. Instead, it became a spiritual awakening. Revisiting childhood verses with adult eyes. Remembering my thoughts of growing up and being someone's wife, someone's mother...the dreams I was allowed to have, quelling the others of teacher, writer, adventurer. So now what? It's all these years later and my dreams have come full circle. I have been someone's wife, I am many someone's mother, I have written, I have taught...in some ways have adventured. I crushed my spirit behind religion. I closed out the wife part of me because I found it wrapped in a strange cloak of religous expectations and yet I've spent my life's work being someone's wife.
A wife nurtures, she toils with her hands, she is trustworthy, her husband sings her praises. I have been a wife to the homeless women I love so much who lost not only thier own childhood but their children's. I have been a wife to men coming out of prison who needed someone to look at them with respect for the men they are. I have been a wife to my friends who needed rides, their laundry done, a home cooked meal. I have put on an air of bravado and said "I shall never be someone's wife" when I've lived as everyone's wife.
I want to be a wife to many and THE wife of one. I want that one to know that even though I wive many, I am the wife of only one. I want the respect, the honor, the trust in knowing that forever my one will be supported, nurtured and revered.
I am the wife to many and yet and I am no one's wife.