Lewis recognises a sacrifice when he sees one. That is why, reflecting on his sixteen years marital journey with Martha, he does not fail to identify all the adjustments his lady has made for him and their children — emotional, physical, time, and even career adjustments — that helped to vanquish the fear he used to entertain before entering this marriage.

Recounting them in a letter to Martha makes those sacrifices sound out of this world, but to Lewis they are real and unforgettable.

But — and here is where you've given me a sweet surprise — what I feared did not come upon me; rather, something beautiful came to me. Initially, I noticed how your speed and my slowness conflicted, especially whenever we had to go somewhere together — church, outings, travel, market, shop, or visiting.

You would be ready long before I would be, and then you had to wait. Sometimes, as a result, we would be late or fail to arrive as early as was required.

I could read from your actions that you were not too amused with my slow coach attitude, but never once have you lost your temper because of it.

That has been truly golden, my lady Martha. You've been gentle with me and borne with what I consider to be my utmost physical weakness.

I've now realised that you've adjusted to this so well that you've slowed down to my pace. Yes, I have also tried to speed up a little bit, but every now and then I lapse back to my slow motion, and still you've come alongside me.

I've even noticed that whenever we are walking together and you see me lagging behind, you deliberately slow down in order for us to walk side-by-side.

And when you really want us to speed up, you hold my hand, palm-to-palm, not to pull me along but to get me close to you.

Maybe the very thing I dreaded — your speed, your active- ness — was the very thing my inner being craved for. Maybe it is true after all that opposites attract.

But I really doubt if mere opposites without a quality inner character will bring any positive attraction. I believe the attraction of opposites is admirable only if something beautiful comes out of it — as in your case, Martha, for you've not used our differences to intimidate me but to show me your love.

I will tell you another adjustment you've made that has added much value to our marriage and made it the best in the world. It's the best because I know no other marriage, and I'll not give up this one for any other.

When I was growing up as a young boy, I found something peculiar about my “days” and my “nights” that used to work against me somehow. I noticed that I worked better at night and not so well in the day, so I often worked deep into the night.

Consequently, waking up early in the morning to do chores before school was quite a hassle for me. Unfortunately for me, I carried this rather unusual habit into university and to my job place as a young marketing executive.

It's been a struggle, especially managing to report to work in time. Once I asked my boss if I could report to work at 9 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. instead of the traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours and he gave me an emphatic no!

I never related my situation to my marriage until during our counselling sessions when we treated the subject, “adjustments in marriage”.

I realised I was up against an uphill task when I once asked you when you normally wake up from bed and you said 4 a.m.!

You had your devotional quiet time and meditation at dawn while the Lord and I met at night. How were an early riser and a late one going to adjust?

But, Martha, you're a great woman. These sixteen years, I've seen you've made a tremendous shift from being both an early riser and staying late to meditate with me.

There have been times when I've tried to rise up early for our quiet time together but only dozed off. Yet, you've always accommodated my weaknesses.  Continued    Source: Daily Graphic - Daily Graphic