The Military Wife

The good Lord was creating a model for military
wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when
an angel appeared. She said, "Lord, you seem to be
having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong
with the standard model?"
The Lord replied. "Have you seen the specs on this
order. She has to be completely independent,
possess the qualities of both father and mother,
be a perfect hostess to four or forty with an
hour's notice, run on black coffee, handle every
emergency imaginable without a manual, be willing
to move to a new location ten times in seventeen
years. And, oh yes, she must have six pairs of hands!"


The angel shook her head, "six pairs of hands? No way."


The lord continued, "Don't worry, I will make other
military wives to help her. And I will give her an
unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride
in her husband's achievements, sustain the pain of
seperations, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired,
and be large enough to say, "I understand"
when she doesn't and say "I love you", reguardless."


"Lord," said the angel, touching his arm gently.
"Go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this
tomorrow."

"I can't stop now," said the Lord,"I am so close to
creating something unique. Already this model heals
herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected
guests for the weekend, wave goodbye to her husband
from a pier, a runway or a depot, and understand
why it's important the he leave."

The angel circled the model of the military wife,
looked at it closely and sighed,
"It looks fine, but it's too soft."

"She might look soft," replied the Lord.
"But she has the strength of a lion.
You would not believe what she can endure"

Finally the angel bent over and ran a finger across
the cheek of the Lord's creation.
"There's a leak," she announced.
"Something is wrong with the construction.
I am not surprised that it has cracked.
You are trying to put too much into this model."

The lord appeared offended at the angel's lack
of confidence. "What you see is not a leak,"He said
"It's a tear."

"A tear?" What is it there for?" asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, pain,
disappointment, loneliness, pride, and a dedication
to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."

"You are a genius!" exclaimed the angel.

The lord looked puzzled and replied,
"I didn't put it there."