A couple of weeks before Father’s Day and a few weeks before we hit 41 years of marriage. It causes me to reflect. This is right where Janet and I planned to be when she was braiding my hair on her front porch when we were hanging out at our favorite spot on Lake Michigan, forgetting to watch the movie at the drive-in or just holding the phone not wanting to hang up. We were 22 years old when we married. We didn’t know about the gauntlet of life we would have to travel through to get here. We thought we were ready for whatever came our way. We weren’t. The gauntlet was lined with our own selfishness, family baggage, indecision, and dreams but no plans. The obstacles for me were “grown man” problems. I had to learn how to grind it out daily with no available blueprint. I learned to bite my lip without dripping blood. I had to learn how to support a woman, spiritually, physically, and emotionally, and provide a vision for us. She needed me to be all of that, even if she didn’t know it. You know, grown man stuff. Age does not define manhood. I had no consistent mentor to help me. I knew the type of man I didn’t want be. I couldn’t articulate the type of man I wanted to be. I never met him. I developed a catchphrase to keep me going. “Dig in and hold on.” God helped me battle right where I was until I was ready to handle His next “mission” for me. From time to time He would open my eyes and let me see the “the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around us” protecting us. I am thankful for Him trusting me with “grown folk” problems. I love you sweetheart! Glad the tomb is empty.
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