An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life…Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. -Prov. 31:10-12, 29
The above verses will be self-explanatory after you read this article. However, the title may need some clarification.
I picked the title, “Taking A Risk” for two reasons, both of which have to do with my sweetheart Kimberly. First I’m taking a risk in that she does not know about my subject for this email. That is by design because she is the subject. Second, because I did not run this by her, I’m not asking her to edit my work. Since our college days, Kim has used her mastery of the English language and her natural ability as a writer to make me sound smarter than I am. I have been and am blessed to have her as my “Editor”.
Over the nine years OR has existed, I have had countless people thank me for starting this organization. And while I appreciate people’s encouragement, I want it known that OR would not have made it past the dream stage if it had not been for Kim. She has not only shared with me the “path less traveled”, she has embraced it.
I’ll not go into detail, but I will say this – OR was launched in the most difficult season we had ever experienced. She had every reason in the world to say no to us creating a ministry from scratch. No security; no template; no team; nothing but an idea.
There was one day when I was ready to quit. The needs seemed too great; my abilities seemed too small. These made the dream of OR seem too far out of reach. I remember coming into our house broken and wanting to throw in the towel. Kimberly listened as I laid out all of my reasons for pulling the plug on this fledgling organization and then she asked this question: “Joel, do you believe God gave you the vision for Operation Resolute?” My answer was yes to which she replied, “Then you can’t quit.” Those last four words coming from a woman who had had all security ripped out from under her were the oxygen my soul needed. If she saw the value of OR and she was willing to not only give me the ability to lean into the work, but also to join me, then I could continue.
Nine years later OR has served 6,828 Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and their families. We have heard of lives saved, marriages restored, families strengthened and the gospel shared because God used my bride to keep me in the fight. So the next time you see Kimberly, thank her for how she has served those who sacrifice for our country. OR would not be here without her.
