Tom and Karen Cox

Our 5-year-old neighbor was having a difficult time remembering our names. One day, wanting to know where my wife was, he asked me, “Where’s that girl?” Knowing what he meant, but wanting to get him to say Karen’s name, I asked him what girl he was talking about. He replied, “You know, that girl that follows you around.”

Karen has followed me around for over 21 years now. That path has taken us to several different towns and churches. She has stayed with me through unemployment, sickness, surgery and other times when I wasn’t the easiest person to follow. I feel quite blessed because she has been with me every step of the way.

“…Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” (Ruth 1:16-17)