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 is 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 for 4 or 40 with an hour's notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant or has the flu, and she must be willing to move to a new location 10 times in 17 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, we will make other Military Wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husband's achievements, sustain the pain of separation, beat soundly when it is over-worked and tired, and be large enough to say, 'I understand,' when she doesn't and say, 'I Love You,' regardless."
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 went over and ran her 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 replied, "It is for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."
"Lord," exclaimed the angel, "You are a genius!"
— Author Unknown
October 14, 2002
