Walking With Giants

"A man has dreams of walking with giants
To carve his niche in the edifice of time..."

Next week marks the 45th anniversary of the release of Mary Poppins. A couple weeks ago Alex was first introduced to her, and immediately fell in love. So, we ended up buying the dvd, and it's been watched countless times since then. Generally if I watch any of it with him, it's only the first 20 minutes or so. At that point something inevitably happens (like a poopy diaper) to pull me away from the tv. Last night was the first time in years that I sat through the whole movie.

Near the end, just after the chimney sweeps dance their way out of the Banks house, and Mr. Banks receives the phone call letting him know he's about to be fired from his job at the bank ... Mr. Banks and Burt have a song. The first two lines struck a chord with me as I listened to it last night ...

"A man has dreams of walking with giants
To carve his niche in the edifice of time..."

It's so true. And all too often as wives, lovers, sisters and even mothers, WE are what stand in the way of the men in our lives being successful. How often, when our men are facing opposition, do we fail to bridle our tongue? How often do we not control our tone of voice and restrain our body language (including facial expressions)? How often do we sigh and roll our eyes? All too often we think the right course of action that HE should take is obvious. We know his faults, his weaknesses and his failures. But it's NOT our job or duty to remind our men of them. The rest of the world is more than eager to point out the negative and discourage.

Our men don't need us to criticize them, "fix" them, or even to "improve" them. That will happen (hopefully) on its own because of the hurdles they face in life. It is our job to support them, encourage them, build them up, and help them reach the stars. "Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds" (Orison Swett Marden). We, as women should NOT be part of the opposition that our men have to struggle against. After all, we should be on the same team!My man DOES walk with giants - whether or not the world agrees with me (though I think it does). He IS successful. After all, "success is doing what you love, loving what you do, and helping others to learn how to do the same" (Bob Burg). He is kind, good, loving, gentle, strong, empathetic, motivated, encouraging, respectful, protective, funny, smart, creative, playful, and daily is turning more and more into the "man of God" he was created to be.

Women, let's do more building up of our men, and less tearing down! Let's help them "carve their niche in the edifice of time...."