The Men Who Make Our Dreams Come True

Sometime this past year the realization hit me that my Dad is the man in my life who has made all my dreams come true. He and my mother taught me to dream, then helped me make those dreams a reality. He put me through college. He put me on a mission. He funded my study abroad. Thanks to him I was able to be debt free right out of college and be independent enough to pursue the things I really wanted.

Tonight I was reading a blog that I follow; the blog of a perfect stranger. She couldn't help but talk about how amazingly selfless her husband is. And to be honest, reading it made me want to be more selfless. I'd love to be able to make someone that happy. It inspired me.

That is the thing I love about guys. And I know I generalize -a lot, but let me here.

I am so grateful for my older brother, Ethan; for our endless hours of conversation. For his frank and happy way of being that I love so much. I am grateful for the way his first thought when he realized I'd driven to Georgia was to see if he could fix my air conditioning.

I am grateful for my little brother, Vince, for his sweet nature. I had to learn to be careful when I was in law school when I answered the question "How are you?", because he'd find a way to do something about it. He'd always ask for permission to call me from Belgium when he was on a mission there while I was serving in France.

I will always be grateful for my high school sweetheart, Chris. He was so other-centered that it baffled me. He taught me that I could be, and was loved. Even all these years later, his influence still makes me want to be a better person. Furthermore, when life throws its punches, I hold my head up a little higher when I think of how he treated me. He made me believe in my own value because he genuinely did. His kindness melted walls I didn't even know existed.

There are also my guy friends who always seem to contact me when life seems to be blue (ahem, Nate, his timing is nearly always flawless). Or who thankfully only work ten minutes away when I'm stranded on the side of the highway in 100 degree weather with a flat tire. (Ahem, Brett - he dropped everything to come help). Or there was the time my car got broken into and Chad drove an hour down and spent the day helping me replace my window and repair my car. There are guy friends who allow me to stretch my wings (Shaun) and ones who are consistent friends even after years and years (Jake - he has been far more forgiving and patient than I deserved). And of course, there are the guys who have been, usually without knowing it, direct answer to prayer (Charles - helped me fix my roof without lnowing Id spent my morning praying for that specific help and Mark- he and his wife brought me food once after I'd prayed for it without knowing of my prayers).

I am so grateful for all of them. They say that the errand of angels is given to women...but I would venture to say that it isn't gender specific.

Here's to all the guys who make our lives so awesome.