I’m pretty much "batching" it right now. Pat is at her Mom’s home in NY. I get a little weary with peanut butter sandwiches and have learned to pretty much detest fast food.

     Last week, I was invited to the other Meyer home, about seven minutes from here. After a delicious supper, granddaughter Rachael asked me if I would proof read a paper she’d written for one of her college classes. College at 15? Yep. All three of our grandchildren are enrolled in one of our local colleges. Steve graduated from high school recently, but was also enrolled in college while in high school. Ben (17) and Rachael (15) are dual enrolled. They do their high school work, but also take college courses. Pretty neat, eh?

     Rachael’s assignment was to describe her ideal husband. As I began to read Rachael’s paper, it soon became apparent that she was weaving two men into her writing. Yes, she did describe, for a secular professor, what she would settle for in a husband. I also detected another man in the background. I suggested that she separate the two men for the sake of clarity in her paper. She did a superb job of reworking the piece. I first intended to quote from her words. Then, I decided that to get the full flavor, you needed to be exposed to her fine paper. Here it is.

My Ideal Husband

     In my wildest dreams, if I could have my ideal husband, this is what he would be like. He would need strong character. He would need to have a great sense of humor. Heartfelt love for his family and friends would also be very important to me.

     I would want my husband to be devoted to the Christian faith. I would expect that reading his Bible would be one of the first things he’d enjoy doing everyday. He wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to share Jesus with other people. I would respect his dreams if it included becoming a youth pastor because he loves to hang out with the junior ad senior high group. Something else that would really impress me is if he would take time out of his busy life in order to work with the youth and the surrounding community by going on little outings to the skating rink or maybe just to McDonalds.

     My ideal husband would have an intense love for his family. One of his top priorities would be taking care of his family. He’d support his family by providing the basic need and perhaps, with a few wants we might have. For example, instead of going and buying a new fishing pole, he’d use his old one so somebody else could get a new outfit. He’d juggle his work schedule, by getting off early or going in early, so he could go to a soccer game or a dance performance. I think that he’d strive to be a Christian father and husband. We would be like a team. Whatever needed to be done at the house he would do along side his family.

     In my ideal world, my husband and I could be perfect for each other. God would put him in my life at just the right time. God would make both of us try to be open-minded. When we get married, I would know that we would spend the rest of our lives together and that this was a great decision. He makes us think of working as a team rather than be self-serving. I believe that nothing would tear us apart.

     My father has the qualities that I want in my future husband. I really appreciate his good sense of self-control. He puts up with me when I really don’t want to talk to him. Even when I’m not nice to him, he doesn’t get angry at me. He’s a great listener but is not afraid to talk out about certain things. He’s not shy around my friends or other people. I don’t know what it is, but he can make any situation seem funny. If we’re running late for a leadership meeting, he’ll say that "if we were in a rush, we would’ve started yesterday." I believe that he’s a man of good character and great moral.

     All in all, it may seem that life is always perfect, but there are the hard times as well. It’s worth it, though. My father is the best dad in the world and what I want in my husband. He’s also the most devoted Christian that I have ever known, and he has great self-control.

     Well, it’s me again. I would appreciate any comments you have and will pass them along to Rachael. Just hit my name in the lower corner of this page.

Responses to "MOUNTAINS & MOLEHILLS"....

- Our church makes LOTS of mountains, out of molehills. It ought to be called the church of hurt feelings or something! Of course those people who leave the church due so to over reacting.

     That is one of the first lessons I learned (thanks, Holy Spirit) that I can't let some little snide remark (or a big snide remark) "get" to me. I remember Jesus, and all the guff He must have taken, and what comments I get are NOTHING compared to His problems while He was down here, showing us how it’s done.

- Very good stuff---mountains out of mole hills! Something I think we all deal with from time to time.

     I think, too, that when a person is under a considerable amount of stress that every little thing in life after a period of time begins to look like a mountain. We let innocent actions by others or minor events turn into massive mountains that take a lot of energy to tackle. Imagination is a great thing only when used in a positive way.

     The point is that there are certain times that we are more susceptible to making mole hills into mountains...and that is when we need to take a breather, sit back and evaluate our situation. Easier said than done, but from my own experience I find that it helps. We can actually turn such mountains into mud puddles and step over them. I believe that God can help us make sound choices concerning whether or not to let something build in a negative way.

- I just read your piece on making a mountain out of a mole hill. My Mama used to tell me that all the time! I was the worst one that I know of, when I was a kid to do that. It was so easy to start out with one sentence, then I’d add a little here, a little there, until it snowballed into a "great big ol’ mountain" that somehow I had got to climb. I'm glad I don't have to climb those big mountains now. I outgrew that many, many, years ago. I really liked your story. Like I've said before, my friend, you are the bestest at stories, I could listen for days, weeks, years!