My Husband, My Hero

"A real man's gotta be a hero to his wife before he can be a hero to anybody else, or he ain't a real man." - Fireproof

Valentine's Day came and went this weekend. I don't really care that much about it - why do I need a special day to express my love to my husband? For that matter, why does he need a special day to express love to me? Mostly it's a marketing ploy,but I was brought up in a house that celebrated EVERY holiday - and I mean EVERY one - so I still like to celebrate Valentine's Day and all its silliness.

However, one thing that is not quite so silly is just how much I love and appreciate my husband. I was reminded of it again this weekend. There are just so many things I love about him. He is an amazing, amazing man. And I wanted to take a moment just to talk about the things I love and appreciate about him.

My husband is fighter. He fights for what he knows should happen. He fights for what he knows is right. He has some unique struggles in his life, but they stem from a desire to get it absolutely right with God. I have seen him wrestle and struggle and fight so hard to get through a tough battle. So many men would have given up on God a long time ago. But not him. He fights on, seeking to grow and change and become more and more of the man God already sees him as.

My husband is a servant. On the weekends, he won't let me come near a diaper. He sees that I am with the kids all day, all week, and on the weekends, he jumps in front of me to keep me from doing too much. He surprises me by doing the dishes or cleaning the living room while I'm at the store or the YMCA. He looks for ways to lighten my load, and he desires to serve me and the kids in whatever way he can.

My husband is a provider. Throughout our marriage, he has gotten up every weekday morning (and not a few weekends) to go to a job in order to provide for our family. Right now, and for the past three years, he has a job he loves. However, that was not always the case. He has had to work some grunt jobs just to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. He has done factory work, fast food work, whatever it took to pay the bills. And he did it with a smile on his face. He is not a complainer. He got up, did his work to the best of his ability, and came home to serve me. He still does all those things now with the job he loves, for which he continues to strive for excellence.

My husband is a partner. He does not see "the house" or "the kids" as just my arena. Nor does he see "the finances" or other areas as just his. He desires to be there with me 100% as we live our lives together. He also understands that at 4:30, he gets to leave his job behind and come home...but I never leave my job behind. He is very good about coming home and sending me out of the house for a while, or allowing me half and hour to myself in our bedroom with the headphones on while he has Daddy Time with the kids. We made an agreement a long time ago that Saturday mornings were his time with the kids and my time to grocery shop...away from the kids. This has worked beautifully for everyone involved, but it shows how much of a partner he is when it comes to this family. He also sees the housework as his job too, and he is careful not to let all of it fall on me. We make decisions together, pray together, work together. He seeks to partner with me in all these things.

My husband is a family man. He is a fantastic father. He truly enjoys his children. He loves to see them when he comes home from work. He wants to hear all about everything they did that day. He loves to play with them, take them places, dance with them, and teach them the love of Christ that he has known. He is a balanced disciplinarian, and the kids know what to expect from him. One of my favorite things to just sit back and watch is my husband interacting with our children. He loves them, and they love him. He in gentle and loving, yet firm and steadfast. I cannot imagine having a better father for my children.

My husband is a romantic. He has never stopped courting me. He still, after 4 years of marriage and 2 kids, spontaneously brings me flowers on his way home from work. We have a standing date every Saturday night, and he does not allow anything to interfere with that. He asks for how he can bless me, and he works hard to keep after my heart. He truly finds me beautiful, and he cannot seem to stop telling me so. He didn't let up on the romance when we got married - if anything, he increased it. When he walks in a room, my heart still lifts. His coming home is still my favorite moment of the day. I know he will keep romancing me till the day one of us dies.

Finally, and most importantly, my husband is a man of God. His relationship with God is the most important thing in his life - more important than me, and that is a good thing. His life is anchored on Jesus Christ, and that spills over and soaks everything in his life- jobs, kids, ministry, me. His main goal in life is truly to know the Lord and make Him known. His faith is steadfast. Weaker men's faith would have been shaken and broken by some of the things he has experienced, but not him. His heart so longs to just be with God, and it is that longing that makes him such an amazing man.

So there you have it. Just a few of the many, many reasons my husband is awesome. For these, and for so many other reasons, I can truly say my husband is my hero.