My husband rocks

In my 30 years of life I have observed a variety of different men. Some, like my dad and brothers, I have known well. Some I have perceived from a distance. Many earned my respect, some were less than stellar.

I am humbled and amazed at the goodness of God when I consider this fact: of all the men I have known, the one who stands out the most to me as a man of God and a man of integrity happens to be the man that I get to spend the rest of my life with. 

My admiration of this man has grown into something completely independent of his connection to me, legal or otherwise. He has gained my deep rooted trust, respect, and appreciation simply by living his life and being the man he was created to be.

If David were just a man that I knew; someone to whom I was acquainted with in a distant way, I believe that I would still have a very high regard for him. Aside from any emotional and intimate attachment – this is a good man. This is a man worthy of honor. Someone that would get my nod of approval and eyebrows raised in a *pause* “he’s different, I’m taking note” type of a way.

I sense that this is the point at which a word may begin to rattle around in a few readers minds.

*Phony*

“This is a blog. This is a venue where anyone can claim any number of beautiful things.”

Yes, I get this. I have even thought along these exact lines before as I have read some just-too-good-to-be-true, "real life accounts”.  So, of course I can not prove my authenticity here, but I hope that I have been transparent enough through my writings, that you know I am not simply trying to paint a rosy picture of the Every Day Miracles family through motives of pride or any other vain thought.

Could I list David’s faults here?  Why yes, I could. Not many know him as I do. I am well aware of his humanness. Sometimes our fleshly imperfections merge in a mess of conflict. I know he’s not perfect.

I also know that God has gifted me greatly in allowing me to be married to this man. I am resolute in not becoming apathetic or taking this blessing for granted. Through our every day life, menial tasks, difficulty in this training-many-little-ones phase of life, distractions, selfishness, and just plain busyness, it is important that I take the time to recognize how deeply my life has been blessed by David.

Through the 11 years that I have known him I have come to see where his great strength lies. 

Listen up, it is not in physical strength, or incredible intelligence. It is not in a super human discipline. 

This is what I have discovered about the strength of my husband: It is in admitting weakness and relying wholly on the strength of the One who perfectly created every bit of his now flawed humanity.

Indeed, this is the greatest masculine strength I have ever seen.

I have watched him grieve to the point of transformed character as we watched our first born lose the battle for his life here on earth. Yet, as I continued kicking and screaming and wondering WHY? I was awed by this dignified acceptance that he modeled for me.  Slowly my heart came around to see the truth and the right in simply looking into the face of God and saying, “You give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will CHOOSE to say, Lord blessed be your name.” David showed me how to do that, because he did it first.

I have watched him become a fully engaged daddy to one very sick, very little boy. I watched him lay down his preconceived ideals of what fatherhood was going to look like, reach down and gently hold the hand of a severely brain damaged little boy, and say, “hey little buddy, I am your daddy, and I am going to love you with every thing that I have to offer."

I have watched him become a daddy again…

…and again…

…and again… (hey, we like makin’ babies okay?!)

And every single time, I have been awed by this mix of untainted gentle love and strong masculinity.

This Father’s day we will, of course, be thanking the Lord for the Dads that he has blessed both David and I with. Our fathers have guided us through our most vulnerable years, and we are very thankful.

In addition to that train of thought, I am profoundly aware, and intensely grateful, that my precious boys have something beyond any measure of value.

My boys have a daddy who daily exemplifies what it means to trust God and love others. They have great security and are surrounded by this environment that constantly esteems them and gives them purpose.

I have always held fast to the belief that Dads hold the key to so much in a child’s development and identity. No greater gift could be given to me then to see my children esteemed by their loving father, as he follows his Father!

Happy almost Father’s day David. I love you.

This post is being submitted to the My Husband Rocks writing contest