Ode To Superman (and our marriage).

Superman.

My Godly,
hilarious,
perfect balance of me.

The most wonderful dad in the world.

When looking for a photo of him to post on this blog, I realized I have only a few of him all by himself. I need to change that.

When God created this man, He must have perfectly combined the necessary ingredients to come up with a soul mate just for me. And I don't use the term "soul mate" lightly. He is, without a doubt, the epitome of my other half.

When we were first married, I was a wreck. I mean, I was pretty darn messed up. I had never really witnessed in depth what a healthy marriage was. I had seen the way my mom was treated by my dad and knew that I never was going to be treated that way. I was mean. I was angry. I was manipulative. But only to my husband. I suppose I knew no one else would take such abuse from me.

But, I digress. Those first 6 months of marriage were a nightmare for me, and I'm sure a night horror for Superman. We would get in an argument (usually provoked by me), and I would say, "Why don't you just divorce me?" Poor, poor Superman. He was and is a patient man. He would assure me that divorce simply was not an option, and that I was stuck with him no matter what.

One day, Superman said something that changed my life. He said, "Shanti, you need to make a change. I'm willing to help you, but I will not be treated like this. You need to go to counseling. I'll go with you if you want me to, but you are in serious need of help."

No one had ever called me on my behavior before. I was a master at being the kind, bubbly, outgoing girl with everyone in my life, except for the person who was closest to me.

A few short months after that conversation, I gave my life to the Lord. I had accepted the Lord into my life years before, but I had never truly given my life to Him. And I have Superman to thank for prompting me to do so. It was his perseverance and devotion to me that saved our marriage and changed it from one of anguish to one filled with joy, love and true happiness.

Superman is wise beyond his years. He leads our family effortlessly (or at least makes it look that way). He is not afraid to take risks, in fact he seeks out ways to stretch himself so he doesn't get complacent. He is fully devoted to following the Lord's will for his life and will do whatever is necessary in order to accomplish that. He is not fearful of the future or uncertainties. He is confident that the Lord will provide and that whatever trials we go through are directly related to His will for us.

I wish I could share this man with everyone. Alas, he is an introvert. Put him around a group of adults, and he turns into a quiet observer. Put him in a room with his family or close friends, however, and it's like he is a different person. Here's an example of that:




Or here:



Superman is a teacher by trade and was made to have a lasting impact on his students. He is a natural in the classroom, and he actually makes math fun (as you can see from the serious video above).

I love this man more with each passing year. And I really mean that. He is not perfect, but he's pretty much as close to it as one can get.