Sort of

We had a great visit with Ben and Jen and Alison in Virginia. Spending time with them is always a treat and even though it was a quick trip, we packed in a lot of visiting. Ben is an assistant pastor in Virginia; previously he was a youth pastor in Michigan and before that also in Kansas. In fact that’s partly how he put himself through school. Whenever we’ve visited him, I’ve had a great time going to church and seeing him in action. And every time I do, at least one person will ask or tell me how proud I must be of him.

And you know, I am proud of him. But not just for the reasons people think.

He’s chosen a profession that fits him well (he would probably argue with me that the profession chose him—fair enough), and he excels at what he does. I’ve heard him preach sermons, lead worship services and seen the way he’s positively affected teens in the programs he’s run. So yes, I’m proud of him for all of that.

But I’m far more proud of how he acts as a husband and father. He could have the most menial job in the world but if he was the same with his wife and child, I’d still be super proud.

Just as there’s righteous anger, I think there’s righteous pride too. The pride I feel about Ben is because of how he is, not for anything I did. I like to think he’s the way he is in spite of my parenting mistakes.