The Gentle Giant

by Rhonda Beavers

Iwas recently privileged to witness an act of a husband’s love for his wife. A young married couple who lived next door to me were expecting their third child who was due in one of the hottest months of the year, and was coincidentally my birthday.

One warm summer day after the husband returned home from work, instead of resting from his labors, he joined his small wife in her walk around the oval shaped walkway in the courtyard of our apartment complex. He towered over her, not in a threatening way, but as her protector. The wife had been doing a lot of these walks recently, probably having been prescribed by her doctor.

On this occasion, the couple strolled leisurely around the oval with her small hand tenderly tucked into her husband’s folded arm to steady her gait, which was affected by the weight of their unborn son. She would gaze up into his eyes and he into hers as they joined in deep conversation. Who knows about what they spoke—plans for the new baby, discussions about the older children’s school performance, or even their plans for a home of their own. Maybe they discussed how to bear the weight of the responsibility of being good parents.

I watched them unobserved for quite a while, drinking in the sweetness of the moment. This walk was a reminder of how Christ loves us.

Ephesians 5:25 states, “Husbands love your wives, as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” Although He is much bigger than us in every way, He is a gentle giant. He gazes down to look into our hearts, to listen to our every word, to our every problem, and steady us when we stumble. All we need to do is to take His arm.