We Take Care of We

I heard someone say the other day, "In order for me to love anyone outside myself, I first have to fall in love with myself." I've heard this comment many times in different ways. I like it and I don't like it. I like it because it reminds me of a fundamental importance in my life; I need to take care of me. And I don't like it because of a fundamental importance in my life; the more you forget yourself the more you find yourself.

I have recently started running a few times a week. It is hard to find the motivation but I actually feel better. Before I was running, I found myself nagging my husband with more volume. Now I unconsciously turned down the dial on my nagging. My husband has started to find ways to get a workout in here and there. He seems to be feeling better as well. We are slowly crawling out of our self-pity caves and feeling the bright sun on our faces. We are standing hand in hand. I'm so glad he is with me!

I take care of me. He takes care of he. But most importantly we take care of we. I won't always be in the sun and neither will he but if we are both there to coax each other out of those sorry caves then we are losing ourselves because we are we.

Challenge: Go for a walk and hold your Husband's hand.

American Husband

My husband is an American. He is not afraid to stand up for the standards he feels are most precious to this country. He works hard and he plays hard. And when times are bad, he reaches deep inside himself to make the right choice, the choice that is not most popular, but the choice that keeps his conscience in line with his heart. He loves this country.


When I think of America, I see my husband. Why, when America seems to be struggling at the moment? Well, here's what I see. I see my husband struggling to make ends meet. With that struggle, I find him looking for something to stop the pain of not being able to provide for his kids. What he has found to soothe that pain is more precious then gold. It's not video games, not alcohol, not drugs, not pornography. He has found time. He has found time with his kids that he didn't have before. He has found opportunity to fortify his children as they go out to face their world. He has found those tender moments with each child where time and thought are mingled with conversations. He has seen the light in their eyes when he sometimes can't find the light in his own. He has looked to the heart and not to the carnal needs of entitlement. He has embraced the friendships of his children while setting limits and allow consequences to teach. He would love to be rescued from our financial state but because he sees the beauty in allowing his children to struggle from time to time, he has found wisdom and empathy. His survival in these tough times does not come from something manufactured, it comes from finding the good in the struggle. And that is why my husband is America!


My husband is America because he loves, respects, and guides his family without taking away their most precious learning experiences. Without the struggle of going without, he would not have found the strong person he is today. When America is made up of men who find preciousness in struggles, it will stand strong.

Challenge: Talk to your husband about what America means to him.