October 11. “I bring you the gift of these four words. ‘I believe in you.’” (Blaise Pascal)

A few years back I was doing some Christmas shopping in the basement of Zehnder’s in Frankenmuth, Michigan. For those of you who don’t know this place, Zehnder’s is a family style restaurant known widely for their chicken dinners. On a weekend it’s not uncommon to see people standing in line for an hour just to get a table for their family to enjoy a feast.

The basement of Zehnder’s have a bakery and a shop for buying kitchen items and baking goods. I was there because the friend who was helping me find my wife’s Christmas presents wanted to stop in. She never goes to Frankenmuth without a trip to the basement of Zehnder’s.

While I was there I browsed, and I found this plaque.

I instantly knew I had to buy it because it was perfect for my wife. That sentence summarizes the most important and long lasting gift my wife has ever given me, and continues to give me. She believes in me.

Even when I make mistakes, she believes in me.

Even when I am difficult to get along with, she believes in me.

Even when I am all-thumbs on a home improvement project, she believes in me.

At my brightest days, and my darkest hours, she believes in me.

Even when I don’t believe in myself, she believes in me.

I have come to believe in myself because of her belief in me. There have been plenty of times in my life when I have questioned myself. Am I a good enough <insert noun>? Have I measured up to expectations? Have I fulfilled the dreams of those around me? There have been times that some observers would answer “No!” to some or all of those questions. But through it all, my wife believes in me.

When I was at the height of my weight, when I had tried and failed many times to get control of my health, she believed in me. Her belief in me is one major factor in why I have been successful this time around. And I know that even if I end up in failure at this attempt, she will still believe in me.

I think Blaise Pascal had it right when he said that those four words are the most important gift anyone can receive. Knowing that someone else, someone as special as my wife, believes in me enables me to believe in myself.

Today my reflection is on how amazing my life is because I have such an amazing wife, who always believes.