Today was Katie's last day of work.  I suppose my wife is technically retired now.  As most of you know, Caroline is due December 22, and our daughter will be blessed by having Katie steward, care, teach, clean, feed, and generally love her while I am away during the day...or at least until I can ditch the office and come home to help and share in the process.  Famously, Proverbs 31 speaks of a woman whose worth surpasses riches, and I am blessed to intimately know of whom this poem speaks.

Katie as a worker in the American labor force has greatly blessed our family. Katie's role of going to an office has truly enabled us to be where we are now.  Though it seems like long ago, it really was only six years ago when Katie and I became "Man & Wife." It was the summer after my junior year at Baylor University, and Katie had just graduated.  She took a job at a company in Waco and worked while I completed my tenure at Baylor.  We then moved to Dallas, where I went to DTS full time.  Again, she supported us as I was in school.  It wasn't until I left seminary and started at Turtle Creek that her role serving us as the primary breadwinner had ended.  She has been working part time the past few years and now has left the professional work force for the foreseeable future.  From WRS to Raub Cap, Katie has selflessly labored as my own academic life was being put to rest and professional life birthed.

Her presence now at home will be paramount in the growth and development of our daughter. Such is obvious. Katie, as a mother, has no replacement, and Caroline will benefit abundantly in qualities such as security and confidence through their time. I am grateful for this gift Caroline will daily receive from Katie, who will be doing the most important work of her life...and likely more important than anything I will ever do.