Success?

     I just watched my husband walk out the door bearing the weight of discouragement on his broad shoulders.  Six years ago he was in the hospital recovering from the second surgery that was just one of the results of a 3 story fall (that is not a typo) from a ladder while he was working.  At the time, we had a thriving business and in the eyes of many, we appeared successful.  That split second changed everything.
     Hours of uncertainty led to weeks of painful surgeries and then to months of physical therapy.  I was told by the surgeon following his first surgery that when his arm was opened up, it looked like his elbow had exploded inside and that there was little chance of him regaining use of his arm. But that surgeon did not know the man he was dealing with.....
     I have watched this stubborn man push through immense physical pain just to prove that the doctors were wrong.  I walked with him through the frustration of him not even being able to dress himself. When our workers failed to do their job and our business was threatened, I pleaded with him as he made a makeshift sling and tied his equipment into his hand and went out to do the job himself.
    Fast forward to today...... He has been in the midst of an inevitable major change in occupation.  This has required him to stretch beyond the comfortable and return to the classroom, learn computer skills, and test Test TEST!  He sees struggle. I see courage.  He sees failure.  I see focus.  He sees weakness.  I see determination.  He sees a set back.  I watch him rise to the challenge.  When I look at my husband struggling in all of this, I see the characteristics of the God who created him.  And if that isn't success, I don't know what is.