One in the Same Spirit

1,100 letters passed between these two individuals through the course of their lifetime.

By reading their words, we see the devotion they shared one for another, their ability to be truthful and the undeniable partnership as husband and wife.

I am speaking of John and Abigail Adams.

We are given the gift of these letters because this couple had to endure years and years of separation as John Adams' political career took him away from home.

Abigail, described as a woman who was never idle, endured her husband's absence while overseeing the children's education, the house, farm and finances.

As she kept busy, Abigail missed her husband once writing, "Winter makes its approaches fast. I hope I shall not be obliged to spend it without my dearest friend."

John Adams did, in turn, long to be with his wife and family. He wrote, "Your sentiments of the duties we owe to our country are such as become the best of women and the best of men." He also wrote once that he worried about "my best, dearest, worthiest, wisest friend in this world and all my children."

The marriage of the Adams reminds me of how interdependent we are with each other. Adams made a choice to live a life in politics, but that decision did not just affect him. It greatly influenced his family and altered the course of their lives.

Yes, his decision affected his wife, Abigail. But as husband and wife they shared similar goals for the new Country and the roles each of them had in its formation.

As David McCullough stated in his book John Adams, "She was entirely understanding of John's 'arduous task.' Her determination that he play his part was quite as strong as his own. They were of one and the same spirit."

The letters show that they were dedicated to one another, that they understood the struggles each had to endure, and that they experienced oneness as a husband and wife.