A Good Man is Hard to Find

Being a good man is something that has been buried in a culture of immediate gratification of self without regard to the thoughts and feelings of others. Let alone without regard to ethics and morals. So many of the awful things we see happening around us are solely because of this one thing- men have stopped teaching their sons how to become men.
Adolescence has grown far away from being a new pop-psychology slang phrase and has become a fully accepted social excuse for 16 year old refusing responsibility for their decisions, thoughts, and actions.
I was blessed to have a father who, though mistakes were made, refused to give into that. He taught us a solid standard of ethics and morals that still beat me up if I allow the opposite. My Dad worked hard and made many sacrifices so that we would have fun family memories of camping, trips to theme and amusement parks, etc. But along with those things, he taught us. Maybe not what a classical education from books include, although we did learn those things as well, but my Dad taught us to work hard, to be honest and to do right whether or not it was easy. Not to take shortcuts at the expense of the outcome and to not allow ourselves to be easily persuaded from what we know to be right. To stand up for what we believe in boldly and firmly without wavering.
By setting these examples for me, my Dad showed me how to choose a good man. And I did. My husband has been through all sorts of things with me and because of me. Admittedly those that happened because of me were sinful and not honoring to him, to the Lord or anyone else, however, he stayed. I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard him raise his voice. If he has said unkind words to me, I do not remember it.
Chris has been a steadfast example of all the things in the Lord's heart that make Him desirable to broken people. Compassion (ask me how we met and started our relationship), benevolence, sacrificial service, self control, patience, grace and MERCY.
Grace is something we all think of daily and we all know what it is- giving that to others which they do not deserve on their own merit. Mercy is something much harder for me and I admire it so much in my husband- NOT giving to others that which they deserve according to their own merit. Chris restrains himself, giving room for the Lord to work in that person and instead gives them time, patience, grace.
Chris is the most guile-less man I have ever met. There is no judgmental attitude in him. People he meets are drawn to him and end up surprised that they have been so open with him on such short acquaintance simply because he listened without judgment.
Chris has been perseverant under some very hard trials and has remained faithful to the Lord and what he knows to be Truth, when many trusted friends and even family members were advising him otherwise. He never complained or said a bitter word. He simply waited quietly while continuing to do what he had to do.
All of this and so much more make Chris an excellent father to the two daughters we have been given. He has endless patience for toddler play, for interruptions, for chatter...and uses every single opportunity to teach them what God says about whatever it is they are playing at.
I admire my husband and want to be more like him,not because he is perfect, but because he strives to be like Jesus, and by His grace, glorifies Him by being a good man.