Behind every good man...

Is it just my imagination or are the wives the center of every families existence? They control the mood, the movement (either forward or backward) in crisis, and determines how the family "does life" through good and bad times. I am not saying that my wife has always handles crisis well and I don't think she'd disagree. I've become overly taxed and stressed in hard times because of the way Cindy dealt with the problem. That may not say much for my strength and leadership in the marriage, but its a fact. I don't know, maybe this is just way our house runs, but my thoughts and attitudes hang primarily on how Cindy reacts to a given situation.
For many years of our marriage, I would bump up against a bad situation and would come home and talk to Cindy about it. If she reacted with panic or have the attitude of "what are we going to do?", I would immediately go into "Panic" mode or stress out because the "air" at home was heavy with doubt and hopelessness. This blog is not to bash Cindy or wives at all. I am only making a point that the attitudes of the home hinge primarily on how wives process the good and bad things in life. Is this fair? Probably not. That's a big responsibility for anyone, let alone for someone who has the be the caretaker, the nurse, the maid, the cook...
The reason I say this is because, my wife's attitude throughout my unemployment has set the mood for the family and for me in my search. When I came in and told her that I'd been laid off last month, she looked at me with a puzzled look on her face at first because she thought I was kidding. When she realized that I was serious, she looked at me and said, "OK. It's going to be OK. We just need to make a plan. Let's sit down and cancel anything that we can. Any money we don't need to spend, let's cut it off. I'll email my friends and asked them to pray for us and I'll help you look for work." She was amazing! Immediately, I felt somewhat relieved that I didn't have to go through the crisis of a job hunt as well as trying to keep my family from thinking the world was coming to an end. What a powerful testimony of her faith.
Cindy has always been very good at putting Bible verses in front of me that were timely as to what is/was going on in our life. This time is no different. Yesterday, she handed me a note card with Psalm 33: 18-22 on it. It's reads:

¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

¹⁹ to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

²² May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

You don't find a better partner than mine. She is with me in good times and bad. How can someone like me, be so blessed to have her here to help me through times like this? God is Good, that how.

I don't want to talk bad about how others do life or some of the wants and needs of other wives because they are no my responsibility or concern. However, I see so many wives who are always dressed in $200 jeans, $500 shoes, jewelry running out their rear ends and wonder, how in the world does the husband make enough money to pay bills, raise a family and support the lifestyle of some of these women? God bless them, they look great! But, I always realize how stinkin' fortunate I am to have a practical wife who could care less about jewelry, name brand bags, expensive shoes... As a matter of fact, she prides herself on just how inexpensively she can dress and still look good. Men, I know that the "trophy wife" is cool and all. Believe me, I thought that I would marry one myself. And, I a way I did. She is worth much more than any worldly possession I could ever want. Now, you guys who make a begillion dollars, this is not for you. You have enough to worry about with other things I'm sure. I'm talking about the average guy, like me, who has to try and keep the household running and caring for his children. Blessed are the Practical and Frugal. Amen!

Now, briefly about my last interview. It could be a great opportunity! I interviewed with a company called "Texas Driving Experience". An opportunity that is out of the IT industry which is awesome becuase I never have understood anything I was selling. It would give me a chance to actually learn about something and be able to discuss it intelligently without feeling insecure about the knowledge of the product or service.

The interview was with 3 ladies: The CEO/Owner, the HR Director, and the Recruiter. They were all very friendly and easy to talk to. My concern was that they were too easy to talk to. I may have seen overzealous and anxious to go to work there. But, I prayed before I went in to allow God to take over and to let the words flow out of my mouth as He saw fit, not me. That way, if I don't get the job, its becuase I wasn't supposed to. There is a job for me and God knows where it is - I just have to trust and follow His lead. It's exciting!

Last thing that I want to say - Go out and bless someone with a random act of kindness. It will make you feel great!