Someone Believes in Me

God gave me an amazing woman. It takes a special kind of mettle to love a dream-chaser...

One of the most endearing of my wife’s many qualities is that she believes in me. She won’t let me settle for less than God’s best. I can look her in the eye and tell her my dreams without fear. She never sarcastically rolls her eyes as if to say “yeah…right…” She just asks, “How?” or “When?” When I fall short, she doesn’t hold it against me and encourages me to try again. When I succeed, she celebrates with me as I talk about the next dream.

These last 6 months have been unforgettable. I quit my job to chase a dream… took a 33% paycut and lost my benefits. I left a secure career in a down economy, where I was comfortably advancing in pay and rank to form a new startup company with several of my best friends. To top it off, we found out we were pregnant with our third child right after I made the switch. We’ve been squeaking by barely paying our bills as I work long hours trying to bring the company up long grueling hills to a place where we can finally introduce brand-new products to the consumer marketplace and finally attempt to make sales, cash flow, and maybe even profit.

Melissa has stood by me, encouraged me, and kicked me in the butt when I slowed down or slacked off. She’s been my sounding board and too often a vent for stresses and frustrations. You’re supposed to give your pregnant wife foot rubs and extra help around the house, but I’ve given her a lot of nights alone with the kids and never had much less to offer her and our sweet babies when I get home.

I’m on the plane coming back from a 10-day cross-country trip where I made my first sales. I have about 48 hours with her until my next trip, of which I’ll have to get some work done in between… but I am so excited to see her. I pray God can let me love her enough while I’m home to carry her through when I’m gone. I’ve spoken to her each of the last 10 days and she’s been awesome, loving, calm, encouraging, and peaceful. She’s matured so much the last few years… I used to always get in arguments on the phone with her when I traveled on business… just how the stress of separation manifested. But the Holy Spirit seems to be holding us both by the hands more and more, making us more aware of His presence and His grace in all things and all situations.  

Thank you God, and thank you Melissa. I love both of you more than words can say. I couldn’t do any of this without you two.