If You're Looking For Strength, Look Within

The head of household, the provider, the protector, the anchor is what we often label them as, and rightfully so. But sometimes, even the strongest, most dominant figure upon the face of this earth needs strength. Not often portrayed with words, men seek help in solitude. They're less apt then women to vocalize their concerns, so  a cry for help may appear in a form of aggression, silence, or distance. Most commonly, women don't pick up on this. Her first instinct is to assume that she's somehow responsible for his anguish. So instead of remedying the situation, she often agitates it when the best thing to do is sometimes the hardest, patiently wait and pray. We can all recall a moment in our childhood where we've heard a family member silently and sometimes vigilantly praying to God. It was those teaching moments that enabled us to make it through some of the toughest times in our adult lives. So why then do we turn our backs on it in life occurrences such as this?
It's not unusual to depend on a man for strength because they're often times considered to be the more rational thinkers. Whereas, women tend to react off of their emotions. I, myself, have been in plenty of situations where I was close to completely falling apart until I reached out to one of my male friends, who would then advise me with sound judgement and breathe clarity into the situation in which I was dealing with. Then there were times when a male companion seemed to be flustered, irritable, and desired distance. I would become immediately offended and disregarded the idea of them experiencing something totally unrelated to me. So after weeks of quarrelling and misunderstanding on top of misunderstanding, something would finally break and it was usually him with first hurtful words, followed by an explanation rendered because of guilt for embarking upon my sensitivity. 
How often do we overlook the feelings and emotions of our husbands, fathers, companions, and friends? How many times have we misjudged a situation based upon our emotional insecurity instead of leaning upon sound reason and wisdom? I have more yes then fingers and toes. Lets analyze why we go to self first and faith and prayer last. We may not be able to prognosticate early on what's causing a variation in a mans behavior, but we can trust and believe that God does. So the next time you find yourself ready to swell up with tears, consider being a little more sympathetic and rely on God in prayer to reveal and remedy the situation. And most importantly, be there. We possess more strength then we think.

Davina S.