My handyman husband

**Warning: this is a bragging-about-my-husband post!**

In previous posts I have mentioned a mental wish list of sorts. It's not to say I'm not content (although I've been thinking about that A LOT lately), but the list is comprised of a few items that, someday, I would like to replace. 


One of these items is our couch.


The couch we currently have is the one I bought when I moved out of my parent's house and into and apartment in Belleville. I really liked my apartment. It was in an old building in the historic district, which sat on a cobblestone street. It was one of only six apartments in the building and while it wasn't super glamorous, I liked its charm as compared to some other apartments I'd seen. My landlord was okay, not great, and the apartment's old radiators weren't great at keeping me warm in the winter, but I only spent a year there so it wasn't a big deal, nothing a couple of space heaters couldn't help.


When I moved in I had no furniture and I bought a couch and a red leather chair and ottoman (always wanted one!) for living room furniture. I wanted a basic couch, which is exactly what it is. It has lasted through my time in the apartment, a move to our house after we got married and then the move from Illinois to Wewa and the almost three years we have been here. 


Our couch has suffered a few casualties. Somewhere along the way the frame was broken, nothing major, causing one of the cushions to sink. We can pull it back out and fluff it up, but it always sinks right back into the corner once you sit on it. Many months ago we had a bunch of the kids over and when a few of them sat on it, one of the legs broke and they all went down. A funny sight to see and to be honest, now I can't remember if it was already broken. I think it may have been, but we did a good job of convincing the kids that they were the ones who did it. Didn't they feel bad they broke their poor youth pastor's couch?! We didn't let them feel bad for long.


Anytime the leg comes loose, which happens from time to time, we just laugh, prop it back up, and continue on with our Wipeout, The Office or Biggest Loser viewing. That is, until this week. I suppose we're not as young as we used to be, but we sure thought we were funny when we jumped on the couch and the rest of the legs cracked. I think one might have survived, but you can imagine my face when the whole couch sank below me. Oops.


Our only choice at that point was to take all of the legs off and set it on the ground, Asian style.

Sabian said he would get the materials to fix it and after a couple of days of sitting with our knees to our chins he was able to get out, get the stuff and then get it fixed.

What Addie did while Daddy was fix it man.

Seriously, I do believe the couch is better than it was before. It almost makes me want to keep it, if it wasn't for the sinking cushions and the overall degenerative look of it. It is sturdier than it was on the cheap plastic legs and is seems slightly higher than it was before, which is nice. A new couch is still on my wish list, but I think I can wait a little longer. A little longer.


I tell that long, drawn out story because I am thankful for Sabian and his handyman abilities. If he reads this, he'll scoff, but it is true. From simple things like being able to hang things on the wall competently, to painting the interior of the two houses we've lived in to changing our oil and doing other routine maintenance to our cars, to many other things, I'm just thankful he is able to take care of that stuff. Many times I'll mention something that needs repaired and he'll say he can do it and I think, "Really? Don't we need to call someone?" only to see that he can, in fact, fix whatever it was. Of course, major repairs are still left to the professionals, and Sabian knows when to draw the line (he's no Toolman Taylor), and I appreciate that about him, too.

When I was mulling over this post a couple of days ago after he fixed the couch, this is where I would have originally ended this post, but after last night, I have one more "I'm thankful for my husband" shout out.

I'm going to be a little frank here, just so you're aware.


Most of you know that Sabian is a youth pastor. Serving in a small, southern town has had it's adventures and challenges, but we continue to see good things happen. But, with the good, there are the challenges. Many of our kids come from difficult situations at home. We try to provide an escape for them when they come to church, but that can be hard, especially when they are disrespectful. Often we have kids talking loudly or out of turn during services, which isn't always a problem, but it can be if it is during worship and it is distracting to others. You know it's bad when you can hear kids talking over the singing. Again, it isn't always a problem, but we do have repeat offenders. We have a few wonderful leaders who help us try to keep the distractions to a minimum, but when you get a group of teenagers together in one room, these things are bound to happen.


I have little patience for this kind of thing. It is hard for me to overlook the time, effort, prayer and all of the other preparation that has gone into the short time we have with these kids on Wednesday nights. To see that being disrespected is hard. Sabian often has to remind me that most of our kids are not church kids - they haven't been raised in church. I grew up going to church and knowing what it was to be quiet when you needed to be quiet, so at times it is hard for me to understand that some of these kids don't just get it. But, Sabian's reminders have helped, because now I tend to remind myself that either way, these kids need love. It doesn't excuse their disrespect, but it can help in how I manage it.

Last night started out rough. A group of kids was talking, laughing and being very distracting while we were singing. I'd about had enough. I had already talked to a few, stared some down, and some of our other leaders had done the same. By the end of worship I was tense and ready to go home. Sabian plays guitar for worship and had already stepped down once during the singing to talk to kids himself. I was anxious to see and hear what he would do.

Mind you, we've already addressed these issues, with individuals and the group as a whole, so they know what's up. I figured Sabian would do some of the same. Instead, after praying a couple of more times, Sabian talked about how excited he was for the service. He talked about how, with as unsettled and unfocused as everyone seemed to be, he knew that some good things were going to happen in the service because obviously Satan was trying to distract them from what they needed to hear.


What a check that was for me. Here I was, frustrated and not feeling the most forgiving, and he gets up there and says that. I do believe some kids experienced some cool things last night and if nothing else, more were exposed to things that they didn't know before. I pray they are thinking on these things if not today, then at least at some point.


I say none of this to talk about how perfect Sabian is - he's the first to tell you he's not. I do think he is pretty great. I know we all feel that way about our spouses, and well we should. Sure, we're all human and we get mad and make mistakes and say things we shouldn't, but ultimately, they chose to be with us.


I sure am thankful Sabian chose to be with me. I am thankful for his heart, that he sees things more compassionately than me at times. I am thankful for his hands and how hard they work, in and out of our house, for our family. I may not have that new couch, but I do have a husband that will take care of what he can, as well as he can, and I love and appreciate that about him.


Be thankful for your spouse today!