THE SKINNER'S

THE SKINNER'S

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

MY HUSBAND IS MY HERO

I have a t-shirt with this saying, "My husband is my hero." Cute isn't it? These past few weeks it has been a very true thought in my heart and my mind as I have watched how he has chosen to prioritize his time.

Chris has been feeling really sick and fatigued with increased pain for a while now. He kept mentioning it from time to time but continued to do all his schoolwork (he's taking 2 classes this summer) and played with the kids and I whenever we asked (even sometimes when we didn't ask....he could just tell that we needed him!). Well he finally decided to go to the ER and found out that he has a very resistant urinary tract infection. (He went to the ER by himself because I was at work and he didn't want to bother me or any friends.) The doctors had to admit him to the hospital for several days to get rest and many doses of an IV antibiotic before they felt comfortable sending him home with a PICC line to continue the medication at a slower pace. (an IV line that runs from your arm to your heart. It's what they feel more comfortable sending people home from the hospital with when they need continued treatment.).



He was discharged from the hospital on Monday and we both boarded a plane a few days later for him to go to a speaking engagement in Virginia. He's cancelled a few speaking engagements in the past for sicknesses or pain but there was something different about this one. He just really had a strong desire to go and kept saying that no matter how bad he felt he was going (That's his Skinner determination and fighting spirit that I fell in love with!).



We made it to Lynchburg and spent the day with his dad and some friends and he spoke that night to a group of high school boys from across the state of Virginia. Now, when Chris speaks it's always good and people are always challenged and inspired. However on this night it was different. We had been praying that God would go before us and prepare the students' and administrators' hearts to be changed by Him as a result of this speaking. Chris shifted the focus on his talk a bit as he progressed through the message and at the end they opened up the microphones for students and counselors to ask questions. It was amazing! The students began confessing things that they've done in the past, things that they currently have been doing that they want to change, situations that they've been in where they could/should have been injured like Chris but weren't, etc. They were all so incredibly vulnerable and humble and I was so amazed by their honesty and the maturity that they had to face the mistakes that they've made and make changes. They were not only willing to share their mistakes, they wanted to pursue the dreams, hopes, and ambitions that are now burning in their hearts.



This to me is the trait of a strong man. This is one of the main traits that Chris possesses that caused me to fall completely in love with him 8 years ago. Honesty. Honesty about faults, honesty about fears, honesty about mistakes, honesty about dreams, honesty about hopes, honesty about himself. And the more I read the bible the more I really believe that what God wants more than anything from us is our honesty and our confession that we need him. I'm not writing this post to tell you how amazing Chris is or to make you think their either one of us are people to admire. I'm writing this to share with you what God has been teaching me over and over and over in the past few years. He wants us to admit that we're wrong, that we've made mistakes and continue to make them repetitively. He wants us to be strong enough to say that we're wrong and ask for help.....to tell Him we need Him and that we aren't able to live life on our own without self-destructing.



Through my husband and these young men God has spoken to my heart again and encouraged me to seek His face, His heart, His wisdom, and His will. Thank you Lord for Your overwhelming presence and activity in my life. I need You and love You.













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