Watch Your Kids!
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Suzanne received this today from a coworker, whose friend up in Jerseyville wrote it and sent it along. Amazing and frightening. I'm copying, as-is, without verification of any sort, so take it as such. At the very least it's a reminder of the dangers for our kids in society at large:
I'm not sending this email to scare everyone, but I will just sleep better at night knowing all of my friends are aware of this. Over this past weekend a good friend of our family was at the Jerseyville Walmart with her two sons. Her youngest son, who is 4, was at the end of the same aisle she was in as she was looking at some stuff with the other son. When she looked up a few seconds later the 4 year old son was gone. She obviously panicked and when she walked to the next aisle searching for him a man who she did not know was carrying him up on his shoulders! When she looked shocked and started to react the man simply put him down and walked away, never saying a word. For some reason she did not react, she said her first thought was that he was just being friendly so she did not freak out or get security. Later that day she posted about the incident on facebook and everyone, myself included, told her she needed to call Walmart and report it. I guess she didn't realize what a big deal it was until she heard everyone's reaction on FB. So Walmart tells her they have surveillance on every aisle and they will look at it and call her back. In the meantime she questioned her son about what happened and he told her "the man told me to come here let's scare the [expletive] out of your mom". Tonight my mom called me and said she talked to her. When the manager at Walmart called her back he told her that not only do they have the man on surveillance following her around the entire store before he picked up her son, they have him on surveillance following them out to her car as she is leaving. Thank God nothing happened, but this left me with chills tonight, as this man has not yet been found. However, the [guy] was stupid enough to use his debit card while at the store which they traced to a bank in Godfrey. Walmart has contacted the police and they are pressing charges, for exactly what I do not know at this time.
So let this be a scary reminder that all it takes is a split second where you could be looking for something on a shelf and quickly take your eyes off of your kid and something could happen. We are all guilty of being complacent and feeling like "nothing like that could happen to me". This man was able to follow her around before and after grabbing her son, and then still follow them to the car all while she was oblivious to it all. Who knows what stopped him once he got to the parking lot, but those of you with more than one kid remember that if you are putting one of your kids in the car and the other is waiting outside of the car with your back to them all it takes is a split second so put them both in at the same time. Also, she said she did not think as much of it at first because he was decently dressed and looked like a "normal guy" so you never know.
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New Theme Song: “Lead Me” by Sanctus Real
Tweet ThisThis morning, Suzanne and I divided & conquered. She had a long list of things to go pick up for a couple of upcoming showers, so she loaded up Thomas and hit the road. I took Matthew & Joseph with me to Catholic Supply to look for a copy of the National Directory for Catechesis and to seek out ideas for our upcoming 7th & 8th grade Public School of Religion (PSR) & Confirmation prep class.
On the way, I was listening to Joy FM (yeah, I really miss Classic 99 here in St. Louis, but I'm also really liking Joy FM) and the song "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real came on.
I hadn't heard the song yet, but it was perfect for me right now in my life, with my vocation as a husband and my mission as a dad.
It's my new personal theme song.
Here's a clip about the genesis of "Lead Me":
The Story Behind "Lead Me" - Sanctus Real from BrightBulb Entertainment on Vimeo.
If you head to the Sanctus Real website right now, you can hear the song. There's also a link to buy it on iTunes.
Here are the lyrics...
Sanctus Real - “Lead Me”
I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're in independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give upI'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this aloneFather, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone
Reminds me of some clips from Humanae Vitae...
God's Loving Design
8. Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realize that it takes its origin from God, who "is love," (6) the Father "from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named." (7)
Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives.
The marriage of those who have been baptized is, in addition, invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church.
...and...
Married Love
9. In the light of these facts the characteristic features and exigencies of married love are clearly indicated, and it is of the highest importance to evaluate them exactly.
This love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life, but also to grow, so that husband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul, and together attain their human fulfillment.
It is a love which is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.
Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage. Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the source of profound and enduring happiness.
Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being. "Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare." (8)
This marriage thing isn't easy. It's the combination of two distinct, individuals with their own unique dreams, ambitions, passions, and dignity. Those have to constantly be discussed and fused together into one mission for life and eternity. That's why it's at least somewhat easier when we keep the mutual goal of eternal life at the center of our marriages. It becomes a common, shared goal that trumps all.
Still, from day to day, there are individual ideas, dreams, goals that pop up. They have to be discussed and considered rationally in the light of the partnership of marriage... are they possible? Can they be attained together? Do they contribute to the betterment of the whole? Can both share in the goal together? Can both share the glory in its fulfillment? The answer should be "yes"!
This does mean self-denial. It also means openness to discussion and honest critique, and to setting aside some personal ideas and objectives for now - or forever.
Sometimes it really does take the heartfelt prayer, "Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone..."
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The family, economic life and work
Tweet ThisFrom the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (affiliate link):
b. The family, economic life and work
248. The relationship existing between the family and economic life is particularly significant. On one hand, in fact, the economy (“oiko-nomia”, household management) was born from domestic work. The home has been for a long time — and in many regions still is — a place of production and the centre of life. The dynamism of economic life, on the other hand, develops with the initiative of people and is carried out in the manner of concentric circles, in ever broader networks of production and exchange of goods and services that involves families in continuously increasing measure. The family, therefore, must rightfully be seen as an essential agent of economic life, guided not by the market mentality but by the logic of sharing and solidarity among generations.
249. Family and work are united by a very special relationship. “The family constitutes one of the most important terms of reference for shaping the social and ethical order of human work”.[561] This relationship has its roots in the relation existing between the person and his right to possess the fruit of his labour and concerns not only the individual as a singular person but also as a member of a family, understood as a “domestic society”[562].
Work is essential insofar as it represents the condition that makes it possible to establish a family, for the means by which the family is maintained are obtained through work. Work also conditions the process of personal development, since a family afflicted by unemployment runs the risk of not fully achieving its end[563].
The contribution that the family can make to the reality of work is valuable and, in many instances, irreplaceable. It is a contribution that can be expressed both in economic terms and through the great resources of solidarity that the family possesses and that are often an important support for those within the family who are without work or who are seeking employment. Above all and more fundamentally, it is a contribution that is made by educating to the meaning of work and by offering direction and support for the professional choices made.
250. In order to protect this relationship between family and work, an element that must be appreciated and safeguarded is that of a family wage, a wage sufficient to maintain a family and allow it to live decently[564]. Such a wage must also allow for savings that will permit the acquisition of property as a guarantee of freedom. The right to property is closely connected with the existence of families, which protect themselves from need thanks also to savings and to the building up of family property[565]. There can be several different ways to make a family wage a concrete reality. Various forms of important social provisions help to bring it about, for example, family subsidies and other contributions for dependent family members, and also remuneration for the domestic work done in the home by one of the parents[566].
251. In the relationship between the family and work, particular attention must be given to the issue of the work of women in the family, more generally to the recognition of the so-called work of “housekeeping”, which also involves the responsibility of men as husbands and fathers. The work of housekeeping, starting with that of the mother, precisely because it is a service directed and devoted to the quality of life, constitutes a type of activity that is eminently personal and personalizing, and that must be socially recognized and valued[567], also by means of economic compensation in keeping with that of other types of work[568]. At the same time, care must be taken to eliminate all the obstacles that prevent a husband and wife from making free decisions concerning their procreative responsibilities and, in particular, those that do not allow women to carry out their maternal role fully[569].
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Father’s Day… & Father’s Rug is Missing
Tweet ThisFor some boys, some of their fond memories of their dad revolve around their dad's chair, or his room in the house. I think for my boys, it'll either be my office in the house or my arm chair in the living room, where I'll often read - or read to them - at night.
Our pastor for the last 8 years - our parish's Father - was a husband & father years ago in his first vocation. When his wife passed away, he pursued the priesthood as a second vocation.
For the last 8 years at our parish, he had used the rug from under his family's old dining room table to protect the floor behind the altar in our church. Whenever he offered the Eucharist at our church, he did so standing on the same rug on which he had fathered his blood family at dinners as a dad.
A few weeks ago, he left our parish. It's been a rough few weeks in the parish, but we're coming around well and are ready for our new pastor.
Today at Mass, though, I was struck by something I hadn't noticed before: The absence of Father's Rug behind the altar. No more rug - just the natural granite floor of the sanctuary. I don't know if it had still been there last weekend or the weekend before, or if it had been gone all these weeks since he left. But it was today - Father's Day - that I noticed the conspicuous absence of Father's Rug in our church.
I missed the rug, much like I'll miss my dad's chair some day. And like my boys will miss my chair some day.
Right now, our parish is a church without a pastor. And the absence of Father's Rug drove that home for me today.
Tonight I'll pray that I remain faithful to my responsibilities as a father in my own home, and that my boys don't perceive the rug, or the chair, or my office, missing - or empty - until long after I've passed on.
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What Do You Do, Daddy?
Tweet ThisAs a dad who drops his 3 kids off at his in-laws' everyday for daycare, then returns home most days to work from a home-based office (yes, for a corporate job, just working remotely), I often find myself torn on what to say when my oldest is home, comes down to my office, and asks "What do you do, daddy?"
I think I finally found a cartoon that can help me explain...
Here's a description of what I really do.
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Father Forgets
Tweet ThisFather Forgets
W. Livingston Larned
Listen son; I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek and the blond curls stickily wet on your damp forehead. I have stolen to your room alone. Just a few minutes ago, as I sat reading my paper in the library, a stifling wave of remorse swept over me. Guiltily I came to your bedside.
There are things I was thinking, son: I had been cross to you. I scolded you as you were dressing for school because you gave your face a mere dab with a towel. I took you to task for not cleaning your shoes. I called you out angrily when you threw some of your things on the floor.
At breakfast I found fault, too. You spilled things. You gulped down your food. You put your elbows on the table. You spread butter too thick on your bread. And as you started off to play and I made for my train, you turned and waved a hand and called, "Goodbye, Daddy!" and I frowned, and said in reply, "Hold your shoulders back!"
Then it began all over again in the late afternoon. As I came up the road I spied you, down on your knees, playing marbles. There were holes in your stockings. I humiliated you before your boyfriends by marching you ahead of me to the house. Stockings were expensive-and if you had to buy them you would be more careful! Imagine that, son, from a father!
Do you remember, later, when I was reading in the library, how you can in timidly, with a sort of hurt look in your eyes? When I glanced up over my paper, impatient at your interruption, you hesitated at the door. "What is it you want?" I snapped.
You said nothing, but ran across in one tempestuous plunge, and threw your arms around my neck and kissed me, and your small arms tightened with an affection that God had set blooming in your heart and which even neglect could not wither. And then you were gone, pattering up the stairs.
Well, son, it was shortly afterwards that my paper slipped from my hands and a terrible sickening fear came over me. What has habit been doing to me? The habit of finding fault, of reprimanding - this was my reward to you for being a boy.
It was not that I did not love you; it was that I expected too much of youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years.
And there was so much that was good and fine and true in your character. The little heart of you was as big as the dawn itself over the wide hills. This was shown by your spontaneous impulse to rush in and kiss me good night. Nothing else matters tonight, son. I have come to your bedside in the darkness, and I have knelt there, ashamed!
It is a feeble atonement; I know you would not understand these things if I told them to you during your waking hours. But tomorrow I will be a real daddy! I will chum with you, and suffer when you suffer, and laugh when you laugh. I will bite my tongue when impatient words come out. I will keep saying as if it were a ritual: "He is nothing but a boy-a little boy!"
I am afraid I have visualized you as a man. Yet as I see you now, son, crumpled and weary in your cot, I see that you are still a baby. Yesterday you were in your mother's arms, your head on her shoulder. I have asked too much, too much.
[from How to Win Friends & Influence People]
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Teaching the Kids to Play the Piano
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I'm a pianist, and I'm constantly being asked by friends and family when I'm going to start teaching the boys to play the piano. Our two oldest absolutely love music and play with several instruments of their own pretty frequently, but mainly as toys.
But no friend or family has tugged at my heart as deeply as my boys themselves, as they've asked countless times for me to start teaching them to play the piano.
So I've started to work with them, and have started with some ideas from when Suzanne and I were young and learning to play the piano. First, I developed a page with cut-out squares with the basic note names. These squares can be cut out and taped onto the keys of the piano or keyboard. Then, I developed a simple score for what's likely the most popular nursery rhyme - Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It's set up simply to let a child play the keys for the song on their own. Using this method, we're starting with tune. We'll move to rhythm after a few weeks on tune.
Feel free to follow along as I build this out and add to it in the coming weeks and months. Please share this with friends and invite others to explore and use this method too, if you'd like.
It'll all be here: Halbrook.net/KidsMusic. (Also available in the top navigation of the site.)
I tried this out on Thomas tonight, and he had a blast, is enjoying practicing, and is doing quite well. I have my work cut out for me staying on top of creating new pieces for him to learn and practice.
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Marriage Matters
Tweet ThisA note, preface, and caveat: I've purposefully avoided posts about the permanence and the meaning of marriage, knowing that I have many friends who have strong, heartfelt feelings on many sides of the social/political discussions around "marriage" and civil partnership at this point in history. I post this not as part of those discussions, but as part of a narrower discussion around the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.
In addition, as I note below, I note that there are real and valid reasons that some marriages come to an end - or may never have really begun in the first places. I'm not throwing stones at any that have... I'm merely writing to the ideal, knowing that every situation is unique, deeply personal, and the result of deep discernment and relationships between man, woman, and God alone.
While we were preparing for our marriage, one of the things that meant the most to me was a discussion Suzanne and I had about the good and bad times we had witnessed our parents go through, and how their example of love and commitment to marriage through the "thick and thin" was something that had impacted both of us. We were both approaching our marriage with the mindset that it would be forever, and that we had no inkling that ending our marriage would ever be an option.
I imagine that the vast majority of couples approach marriage with that mindset - even some who end up leaving their marriage later in life.
Acknowledging that there are very valid reasons that marriages end (more accurately, that they could be said to have never actually begun), we believe that our commitment is for life. The feeling in this regard is mutual, and our commitment to each other is the same today as it was then, and will God-willing be the same in 40 or 50 or 60 years.
That said, there has been a real and frightening trend away from both the permanence and the sacredness of marriage in our world.
To quote some statistics from a recent study published by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, highlighted in "The First Vocation Crisis", a special report in Catholic World Report:
- In 1960, 69% of American males and 66% of females were married. By 2007, those figures had declined to 55% of males and 51% of females.
- Between 1960 and 1980, the number of divorces per 1,000 unmarried American women over the age of 15 rose dramatically from 9.2 to 22.6; the figure has since fallen to 17.5.
- In 1960, 1.8% of males and 2.6% of females were currently divorced (and not remarried). Today, 8.6% of males and 11% of females are currently divorced.
- 26% of children now live with a single parent—up from 9% in 1960.
- The number of cohabiting couples grew from 439,000 in 1960 to 523,000 in 1970 and 1,589,000 in 1980. Between 1990 and 2000, the figure grew from 2,856,000 to 3,822,000; by 2007, the number had skyrocketed to 6,445,000.
- The number of cohabiting couples who are raising children grew from 196,000 in 1990 to 2,505,000 in 2007. 65% of high school senior boys and 58% of high school senior girls now believe that cohabitation before marriage is a good idea—even though numerous studies have shown the negative effects of cohabitation on children’s well-being.
The article also calls out the drastic declines in sacramental marriage in the U.S. in the same decades.
As an initial response to this phenomenon as observed in recent years, the U.S. Bishops have issued a fantastic pastoral statement, "Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan" (PDF file). It should required reading for all couples preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage, in my humble opinion.
Which brings us to marriage preparation. While some might look at the statistics and suggest that the Church should make it easier to enter into a marriage in the Church, at least one diocese - the Diocese of Phoenix - is raising the bar.
Here's the bar as it's been raised in Phoenix:
- Nine months of pre-marriage preparation time instead of six. Several methods of preparation will remain available, including intensive weekend sessions or a series of weeknight meetings, but the time will be lengthened.
- A full course in Natural Family Planning, a type of family planning that does not use artificial forms of birth control. The church opposes use of contraceptives, from condoms to pills.
- More comprehensive courses on practical skills and the theology of marriage
Kudos to the Bishop Olmstead and the Diocese of Phoenix for providing the time for the couple to learn and to discern together before they walk down the aisle.
In an August interview, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York discussed the four greatest challenges he believes the Church in the United States is facing today. First on his list was the state of marriage.
“That’s where we have the real vocation crisis,” he said. “We have a vocation crisis to lifelong, life-giving, loving, faithful marriage. If we take care of that one, we’ll have all the priests and nuns we need for the Church.”
Amen. Here's to that observation, Archbishop Dolan.
That's what we need to prepare our young couples for, and ensure that they're equipped to build - as well as we can help as a community of faith.
It was almost two years ago, in Peoria at a reception celebrating the ordination of my childhood friend, Father Robert Lampitt, to the priesthood, when his mother made quite an observation. She noted that out of the 100 or so people at the reception, 30 or so were kids, and of those, probably 25 were boys. And she hypothesized that God was going to provide the next generation of priests (what will all those boys do with so few girls?) in this little sample of active, "lifelong, life-giving, loving, faithful" domestic churches.
It has always frustrated me that so many Catholics consider praying the Prayer for Vocations as their way to be "working for vocations." The prayer is good and important, but there's work to do too. And the work that needs to be done is in the nest where vocations are formed in young men and women from the youngest ages. By moms and dads who are faithful to their promise and to the vocation to which they were called.
Marriage preparation, of course, isn't the only answer. Strong marriage prep is just one part of what the identity of "church" really needs to be. A community of faith supports and strengthens its own as well... and should make every effort to strengthen and support husbands and wives through their lives, through highs and lows.
We're blessed that our parish offers that, through activities and through the friendships with have with fellow parishioners. In fact, it's a big part of why we are so active at Holy Family. Our parish really is a significant part of our "extended family," and living up to our marriage vows is even more important to us because of the examples of faithfulness that we see around us in the parish.
Prayer for one another, awareness, discernment, and preparation, and ongoing community and support. All ways that we can work together as Church to strengthen and support marriage.
As the late Pope John Paul II said, "The future of humanity passes by way of the family." Solve one vocation problem - the one in the domestic church - and the other vocation problem will solve itself.
Commenting here (on this post's comment area) or sharing it on a social network are two ways that you can earn entries into this month's $25 Borders Gift Card Giveaway. Please comment and share your thoughts. I'm eager to hear them.
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The Creative Young Catholic
Tweet ThisWhat do you get when the creative little 4-year-old combines:
1) The bongos Charlie gave him for his first birthday...
2) The disco ball nana and ba got him for Christmas (with the ball removed)...
and 3) The St. Thomas figurine Miss Kitty gave him for his baby brother's Baptism?
"DADDY! Come in my room and look at my new Shrine to St. Thomas!"
(click for larger version)
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Marriage & Manhood: A Man Shall Cling
Tweet ThisAs the Christmas break ended, I ran across this fantastic column titled "Marriage and Manhood" by Msgr. Charles Pope on the website of the Archdiocese of Washington. Until now, I've had it bookmarked but hadn't taken the time to share it.
He begins:
Among the measures of mature manhood that God Himself sets forth is faithful, stable, committed marriage. After observing, It is not good for the man to be alone (Gen 2:18) God says ….A man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife and the two of them shall become one flesh. Thus God indicates an essential description of manhood. This is what a MAN does. Three things are taught here...
And he continues by elaborating upon three points:
- A mature man recognizes that it is not good, not healthy, for him to remain alone and unattached.
- Having properly sought a wife he marries her and leaves his parents to establish a home.
- A man clings to his wife.
He does so quite well, I might add. Be sure to check it out when you get a chance.
I will admit that I've been thinking a lot lately about #3, "A man clings to his wife." Monsignor Pope writes: "That is to say, a man works hard to preserve unity with his wife. He manfully addresses any threats to that unity. 'Cling' is actually a very strong word. It means to stick like glue. A man says to his wife, 'Honey if you ever leave me I’m going with you.' Too many men are passive husbands." (Emphasis mine.)
I thought about that again today when a friend posted on Facebook: "'Often the difference between a successful marriage and a mediocre one consists of leaving about three or four things a day unsaid' Harlan Miller What do all you think?"
Whereas one friend (another husband) responded (jokingly, I believe): "I'm not saying," my response was more lengthy:
"I think that the things that add bricks to the wall between husband and wife need to be said, gotten into the open, and talked through. Couples truly in love won't approach this with hateful words or thoughts, but in the honest spirit of trying to maintain an open and honest relationship. Leaving things unsaid only builds up a wall of isolation from each other over time, and eventually builds resentment, detachment, and hurt."
Okay. So I surprised myself a bit with that response, and I believe it shows how much I've "grown up" as my marriage has grown.
Five years ago, as a newlyweds, I know that I wrongly approached a few situations with a little bit of mudslinging to try to drive my point home. I quickly realized that there was no love in that action, and it didn't get me anywhere I wanted to be.
It became more and more obvious that the answer was to say what needed to be said in true love for one another, but to do so in true love for one another meant to do so charitably.
After all, in what's arguably the most common reading at weddings (and provided the basis for our first dance song at our wedding), St. Paul gives the formula: "Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (Again, emphasis mine.)
Today, I do everything I can to ensure there are no bricks starting to form a wall between Suzanne and me before bed each night. In fact, I do everything I can to remove any bricks that may have fallen into place as quickly as possible as each day progresses. And I do that without resorting to underhanded comments or bringing up things that don't really matter.
That's my advice - for today at least - to my fellow husbands who've been married less than 5 years. I bet those who've been married longer could share even more advice with me.
I do everything I can to cling to Suzanne, every minute of every day. It's not always easy, but I do my best, in word, deed, and thought. I take it as my biblical obligation as a husband and the cornerstone of a successful ongoing marriage.
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