How refreshing to read the exciting story of Andrew Stroud and how his achievements have gone to his heart. A man who describes his success as a world superbike champion saying, “I can win a championship and be like, ‘oh yeah, that’s been and gone’, it doesn’t do a lot for me, but seeing two lines come up on a pregnancy test, that really moves me. It is really something”.

In a glamour world where success goes so easily to the head, finding a man who is willing to testify to the importance of his relationship with God, his family and his wife is exciting stuff. A model we can follow.

God designed marriage and family as the cornerstone on which his world is built. The companionship that marriage offers is something we all crave and even when the going gets tough, we know how much a husband and wife need each other. The security of a committed relationship is one of the greatest treasures we can crave. Far greater than public acclaim, business success or a flash home with a super bike or Aston Martin parked in the garage.

The fulfillments we all yearn for are the children God entrusts to our care, something neither a husband nor wife can ever conceive on their own. When children arrive they convert a house into a home they call their own, a place where they feel safe and cared for. Here they are nurtured, encouraged, trained, supported and find acceptance. Parents have the wonderful privilege of seeing firsthand their children responding to unconditional love — opening as a beautiful flower to the morning sun.

The greatest need we have in our exciting, modern world are homes where husbands and wives are committed to each other and their children are their greatest treasure. Let our home be an example to those around us of what God intended family to be, something he gives us the ability and strength to achieve.

Of course none of us are islands in the sun. We offer hospitality and have open homes. We are there for others when the going gets tough and in return others do the same for us. The devastation in Christchurch, where so many have lost their homes, makes us realise afresh how important home is. That we must not take even power, water and sewerage for granted; like the air we breathe they are privileges for which we can give thanks.

As a family, at every meal, we pause briefly and together give God thanks for his love, care and provision for us. This is the least we can do.