To the Real Men

Father’s Day has come and gone, and it was good to reflect.

The man I married is good.  I know, I know, that’s a theologically incorrect statement–he was born a sinner, but he was born with a tender, kind and fiercely loyal disposition.

His loyalty, in fact, was the trait in him that made me say, “I want to marry that man”. Well, that and I thought he was the cutest thing I’d ever seen, but….

When I read “Being the Rock“, what it means for a man to be a man, I thought of my own father, and my brother, and my husband.

I am so very grateful for men in my life–in the lives of my children–who demonstrate real manhood, who love enough to lead, who lead by sacrificing and showing us daily what it looks like to “esteem others better than yourself”.

It’s not false humility, it’s not puffed up chauvinism; it’s the grit that separates men from boys, that digs in deep when life gets hard and just mans up to shoulder his family.

And still remembers that he’s married to a woman.

“You should be a bastion of calmness, strength, and understanding. When she’s in your arms, she should feel totally safe, like nothing in the world can harm or hurt her….

Never say: “Don’t worry about it.” She’s already worried about it, and so to her it is something worth worrying about. Telling her not to worry only dismisses her feelings as invalid and thus is prone to make her angry. Instead, always say, ‘I’ll take care of it.'”

That is my husband.

My rock.  My steady.  My calmness.  My balance.  My common sense.

The father of my children, the lover of my heart, the friend who only sees the good in me.

If I could be half the woman he is a man…

I just wanted to celebrate some real men that I know.  Too often they get lumped into some stereotype they don’t deserve.

And real men hardly even think of defending themselves…

they’re too busy with that shouldering business.

My Dad                                                    My brother