An excellent wife (Literally: A wife of valor) is the crown of her husband…. - Proverbs 12:4a.

House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent (other translations: sensible, understanding) wife is from the LORD. - Proverbs 19:14.

Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. - Proverbs 31:10-12.

For eleven years, Margaret Thatcher was one of the most powerful persons on earth. Perhaps it was the war over the Falkland Islands in which she gained the nickname of "The Iron Lady." Her determination to regain the Falklands whatever the cost was courageous leadership and the result of her "iron" will.

I have been blessed to have an excellent wife, a wife of valor, a prudent, sensible, understanding, virtuous, and trustworthy wife. Jeanie is all of those things, and more. She also has been an instrument of God in my life to shape and mold me. She is a descendant of Roger Williams (Her nine great-grandfather) who among many other things: founded the first Baptist Church in America; obtained a royal charter for Rhode Island in 1644; and was a champion of religious freedom. I have come to believe that Jeanie was divinely designed to intervene in my life, because (at least in part) of prayers from the past. When I think of the character of my wife, I think of the verse in Proverbs, which says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17)."

My wife has been at times an "iron lady" when it comes to what is right, and what is wrong. I know that she is a blessing from God, but at times, I have not enjoyed running into an iron wall. God has used her, to direct me unerringly, in the direction of His will. He has used her, to turn me away from sin, and back to Him as often as has been needed. At times, I did not feel that she was a blessing, but instead an unbending "iron lady." Looking back at my life, I know that God gave me a wonderful blessing, when He gave me Jeanie as my wife. Without her testimony, I might never have come to know the Lord as my personal Savior. Without her, I would never have begun attending church on a regular, faithful basis. Without her, I would not be preaching today, and instead may have destroyed my life, and the lives of others.

In our marriages, there will be times when the best of wives, and the best of husbands, may not appear to be blessings. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t! In the moments when they least appear to be a blessing from God, they may be doing the most important divinely inspired work that they will ever do (This will never be anything sinful.). If you are unhappy with your marriage, I would encourage you to take a fresh look at your wife, or your husband. It may be that you are both made of supernatural iron, that God is using to shape your lives. If your husband is on the wrong path, God would use you as a divine instrument to change his path. If your wife is on the wrong path, God would use you as a divine instrument to change her path. Sometimes blessings don’t appear to be acting like blessings. When that happens, it may be that you need to take another look through the eyes of God, and praise Him for what you see!