~This was the skin that protected you from the world--this loving of another person you shared your life with.--Elizabeth Strout (From Anything Is Possible)

I opened the app on my phone to see a photo I looked at for a time.  I observed my husband gently spooning warm broth to his mother who lay in a hospital bed.  Giovanni's strong hand gripping the spoon stood in stark contrast with his mother's vulnerable posture.  I noted the silver bracelet he wears around his right wrist, his only adornment, like a symbol of royalty. 

Giovanni's mother fell.  She needed bed rest.  His first response was to go to her.  He had just returned from a trip to his homeland in Italy.  Yet he decided to go back immediately.  This response to serve courses through his DNA.  I liken this trait to a vast blue sky that lives within him, that inhabits him and drives him to serve others.  When I looked at the picture, I felt the brilliance of that sky well up within me too.

I have lost count of the number of times my husband serves me.  Frequently, I am witness to a broom or a spatula, a mop, pliers or a rake in his hands as he goes about tasks in our home and on our property.  He concocts nutritous meals that appear like clockwork on our table.  He arranges flowers from his garden that bring sweet fragrance and beauty to our living areas.  He saves us countless dollars with his consistent frugality at the grocery store.  I am in awe of this love language  I am not fluent.  

I gaze at the photo and give thanks for my husband, this person I share life with, this man with that expansive sky within.