My wife and best friend...

This past August my wife, best friend and mother of our children died suddenly. Roberta Ann Lubanski Paulson was a light and encouragement for us and so many. So much so that at her memorial service the church sanctuary was packed and seats stretched into the hallway, even outdoors.

She was a woman of strong faith in Jesus Christ. She not only knew what she believed but why she believed it. She taught our three children in our home and engaged them passionately in the outside world. She had a sense of curiosity that lead her to read widely and converse freely with well ordered thinking. No one who spoke to her was ever bored. The many shelves of books she leaves behind are her testimony.

She traveled so well, preferring to delve into a town or neighborhood for a few days. She wanted to see the place like the people who lived there, no matter where there might be. The same held true for restaurants. In Toronto's Chinatown she ate the chicken feet. At a Middle Eastern place she would order Kibbee, and on and on. The weekend before she died, the five of us visited my brother and his partner at their house in Santa Fe. She was the driving force behind making that trip happen. I am so thankful we had that wonderful weekend together as a family.

And I could go on and on. Our three children and I miss her terribly. Perhaps her finest tribute is that in the midst of overwhelming grief, our family and friends showed us overwhelming love and support...and they continue to do so.

Bobbie, we are missing you, but with faith in Him, we look to the promise of the new year.