Few of us have heard of Catherine von Bora. And yet, as the beloved wife of Martin Luther, she can very justifiably be seen as one of the most influential figures in the Reformation. She made her home a haven of rest for the storm tossed man that was her husband.

Luther once said himself, “Next to God’s Word, the world has no more precious treasure than holy matrimony. God’s best gift is a pious, cheerful, God-fearing wife, with whom you may live peacefully, to whom you may entrust your goods, your body, and your life.”

At the famous Leipzig Disputation between Martin Luther and John Eck in 1519, the monk from Wittenburg carried in his hand a bunch of flowers, sent by his wife. In moments of pressure he would look and them and enjoy their fragrance. Someone has aptly said that, amid the storms and stresses of his life, Luther’s wife and children were his bunch of violets.