My Superhero

I’m the wife who doesn’t post lots of things about her stud muffin husband. For better or worse, I rarely choose to publicly write the sweet, gushy things online for birthdays or Father's Day. Don’t misunderstand me: Chris is incredible in every way. But I live with the tension of wanting to encourage people that marriage is incredible, yet acknowledging there are many who don't want to be reminded of how great someone else is doing. (I’m convinced social media tears many more people down that it builds up.)Today, however, I’ll make an exception. My reason? If we (me included) could learn to replicate this one quality, we could change our families and even change this city…Recently, Highpoint hosted a superhero-themed family outing. Part of the adventure was to pick something up at the Dollar Store that represents the superhero power we wish we had. While we didn’t convince our teens to participate, I had no trouble thinking of the powers I’d want because I live with a superhero.Somehow, Chris has developed a rare form of x-ray vision. He’s able to see the best in me while simultaneously being blind to my many faults. If I could bottle this formula and sell it, I would! I’ve been the recipient of this type of grace long enough to know that this one quality is a game changer.Recently, I’ve been overwhelmed with some additional work, and as a result I’ve dropped some critical balls and forgotten to communicate some important details. If the roles were reversed, I’m sure I’d be at least a little frustrated… and at some point, I’d feel compelled to blurt out my disappointment. Not Chris. Instead, I arrived home after the blunder only to be reassured it was no big deal, and was then told how incredible I am. I felt anything but incredible when I walked in the door, but somehow his ability to focus on something good he sees in me helped me have a better outlook.It’s easy to simply wish I was this way… but the more I thought about this trait, the more I realized it’s a conscious decision each of us can make. Chris doesn’t have a special spiritual gift or talent that I missed out on. No – he makes a choice to focus on my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. There’s nothing but my laziness that keeps me from becoming someone who believes the best about others, too.So, I’m going to start with today. In the spirit of making progress, I’m going to start with one person. I challenge you to join me. What would it look like for you to purposefully overlook the weaknesses and believe the best about someone in your life? Could we ask God for the grace to see people the way He does? If we did, I’m pretty sure we would prove that love works.