Hey Dad,

I love being a man! It's so much easier than being a woman, especially at the start of a new year. Womenfolk scrutinize their lives, relationships, and families, see areas that need improvement, and make New Year's resolutions. We men tend to take a quick look around and proclaim, "Looks good to me. What's for lunch?"

It's not that we avoid reality, we just prefer to emphasize the positive side of life, while our female counterparts tend to focus on the negative. Know what I mean? Of course you do.

For example, when I take a quick inventory, I see it like this:

Communication skills with my wife—I've seen worse.
Our children's behavior—I've seen worse.
Physical shape—I've seen worse.
Spiritual condition of our family—I've seen worse.

There, you see? Everything's fine. I love being a man!

Then my wife has to go and ruin all that. You see, she reads books—the kind that tell you how to be … "better."

Anyway, a few nights ago I was sitting on the edge of our bed talking happily with my wife when she pleasantly said, "I've noticed this in our children, and it's not good." The smile slid from my face as I listened.

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully, "You've got a good point." Inside I was thinking, I've seen worse.

A while later, I was soaking my sore back in the tub. In the quiet, God whispered into my heart, "She's right." If I had to be honest, there were some bad habits that our children (and maybe even I) had picked up, and I needed to deal with them. I don't like to deal with problems. I'm a man, and I like to pretend that everything is just fine.

But everything is not just fine. In fact, as I soaked, I thought of several areas that aren't fine … areas that I need to address and spend time mending. So I made a little New Year's resolution list in my head and began to make plans to handle them.

How about you, Dad? Maybe it's time you take a hot bath and take a good long look at your life, your family, your relationship with your wife, and your priorities. And maybe, just maybe, there's something you need to handle. It won't be as bad as you think. Believe me, I've seen worse.

You 'da Dad!

© 2006 Todd Wilson. Used by permission.

[1/06/2006]

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity RISK-FREE! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issues are yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!