Thank you...

Thank you…

Recently, I was watching a beautiful video about life that the Room At The Inn had produced so as to be able to share their past year’s successes, as well as showcase some of the lives saved in the past year through their endeavors. Across from me sat our 21 year old son Jonathan, who was a volunteer at the function. Seated at the same table but away more than in her seat, was Jenny our 22 year old daughter. She was the event coordinator for this event so it was not surprising that we were seeing little of her. And beside me was my husband.

We were both touched by this beautiful video but strangely I felt a sudden surge of gratitude for the man sitting next to me. Perhaps it was because of the lack of fathers in the video that I found myself thinking about a comment a friend had repeated to me that her husband had shared with her. She said: ‘He told me that he finds Hugo an inspiration because despite all the difficulties, challenges and problems you have encountered the past five years, he is still there, in the harness, doing all he can to support your still fairly young family. Despite the weight of knowing he has nine dependents whose needs all rest with him, he is still there.’

And he is. He is also usually cheerful, joking with the kids and teasing me, making us all roll our eyes. Yes, he gets down and the worry pesters him, sometimes late into the night. But he is still here. Still plugging along. Still asking God for guidance. Getting up and dusting himself off repeatedly all the times that life throws him a hard ball that knocks his feet out from under him.

And for that - I want to thank him. Thank you for working so hard to support us. Thank you for all the little things you do to try and cheer me up when I get down. Thank you for being my husband and the father of our twelve children.