Husband

The singer's voice rang out clear as a bell, and he strummed the guitar with joy. He sang of the Colorado Rockies, of seeing "it rainin' fire in the sky" and that "the shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye".

And he sang of a man who "climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below, he saw everything as far as you can see".

And I thought of my husband. My Colorado native who loves these mountains more than anyone I know. Who draws from them joy, encouragement, strength, peace, faith. Who goes into them like he's going into a cathedral - full of wonder, and amazement, and looking for that which is bigger than himself. Who is convinced that the Rock of his salvation is not a boulder, not a towering cliff, not even a mountain 14,000 feet high - but even more unfathomable, even more unmovable, even more solid and unchanging.

I thought of the years we lived so far away, and how he longed for the Colorado blue sky, the clear stars at night, the days of quiet snowfall. How he longed for the smell of pine needles underfoot, and campfires on cold summer nights high in the mountains.

And I held his hand and felt the callouses on his fingers. I saw the glistening in his eyes as he listened to the song. I felt the tenderness in his heart as he heard the man singing, and he felt the song was just for him.

My love.