From the Wilderness

Guest post by my husband, Wayne

It seems like half the time when our kids ask one of us permission to do something, they’ve already been turned down by the other parent.

Even knowing that their mom and I present a united front to our children, Sam and Sara keep hoping that sooner or later, one of us will give them the answer they want.

Recently, I tried to describe Carey and I to our kids as two sides of the same coin.

I quickly realized it was a lousy example, better suited to supporting the kids’ behavior than discouraging it; when you flip a coin, each side gives you a different outcome. Fortunately, the kids didn’t point out the flaw in my logic, and I escaped being outsmarted by my 9 and 10 year olds.

This time.

Since then, I’ve thought more about the analogy.

Carey and I are like two sides of the same coin.

We’re joined together… but we each have our own identity.

We’re united… but we see things from different sides.

It’s not just us.

Men and women naturally look at things from different perspectives. And, just as one side of a coin can’t see what the other side is looking at, it’s often difficult for us to see things from the perspective of the opposite gender.

I am tremendously proud of Carey.

She is an amazing wife, a terrific mother to our children, and she chases after God harder than anyone I know. She is transparent in sharing her views and a biblical perspective on marriage, parenting, and life in general. I think she’s a wonderful communicator, and I hope you’ve learned something by reading her blog over the years – I know I have.

But there is one thing that Carey can’t do, one limitation that she can’t overcome.

Everything she experiences – and all that she shares – is done so from the woman’s side of the coin. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t give you a man’s point of view. (In case you were wondering, my side is Tails; I’m a much bigger pain in the rear than is my lovely wife.)

With this in mind, Carey has asked me to become a monthly contributor to her blog.

It is her that hope adding a man’s perspective will have the same effect for Let’s Get Real as looking at something with both eyes open.

If you close your right eye and look in front of you with your left, then switch, closing your left and looking with your right, you’ll find some common area in the middle where everything looks just slightly different. But in each case, one eye picks up something the other doesn’t. And it’s only when you open both eyes that you can broaden your peripheral vision, see the whole picture, and gain depth perception.

I have some ideas for future posts… but to get things started, I want to give you, my Christian sisters, the opportunity to offer suggestions.

If you want to know about something from a man’s perspective but haven’t been able to get an answer out of your husband, ask me.

I can’t promise I’ll have exactly the same views as he does (he’s probably not nearly as messed up as I am), but I can promise to answer you with the same honesty and transparency that Carey has made the norm here.

So… leave your suggestions, then come back next week, where I’ll be giving you my perspective…From the Wilderness.

REALITY CHECK:  Don’t let this chance pass by!  Take my husband up on his offer and leave a comment, telling Wayne what you want to know!

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