The Wind in my Sails-Part 2

My reading in The Life Between continues and I really love something I read in it this morning.  “With each discomfort we experience, our responses both reveal the person we are and set the trajectory for the person we are becoming.” It doesn’t seem like a profound point being made but then I started thinking about how hard it is to apply to our lives. It also reminded me of someone that has been teaching me this principle over the last ten years that I have known him. 

If you don’t have the privilege of knowing my husband, Blake I wish you would and I want to tell you a little about why. Blake is probably not the guy that will walk up to a stranger and start making conversation but once you get to know him, you just can’t help but like him.  On a personality test, he would score extremely high on Thinking vs. Feeling when determining how decisions are made. In our ten years together, I have never seen him shed a tear. We have a joke when we sit down to talk, I will ask “So how are you feeling about things?” There must be some emotion in there but it doesn’t present itself too often.  He isn’t one to start an argument either because conflict is not his thing. He is a hard worker but doesn’t spend too much time on any one task cause he doesn’t see the value in perfection. He always thinks ahead and is the man you want if you need to work out some logistics.  Numbers run through his head a lot especially when it comes to finances.  But perhaps my favorite and one of the most amazing things about Blake is that I never hear him complain. Most likely, this is because of his past. Blake lost his dad when he was just nine years old to Melanoma. His mom who is a truly amazing woman in my eyes then raised Blake and his three younger sisters on her own in Hawaii. The man I just described to you could have turned out a lot different being without his dad for most of his life.  Blake has chosen to let the hard stuff in his life provide him better perspective on what is truly important and realizes that discomfort can deepen our character if we let it.  It is for this reason and so many others that I know God has given me an incredible gift in my husband, especially for this time in my life. 

Yesterday, the kids and I had the privilege of participating in the Mid-Atlantic Cancer Support Group’s annual Fashion Show at Lord & Taylor in the Annapolis Mall.  The purpose of the fashion show is to celebrate cancer survivors and their families.  Who would have thought I would ever qualify? It was a great event to be a part of and I got to meet some really neat people.  I am including a picture of the kids and me from the fashion show. Thank you to all who came out to support us.