The Blue Ribbon

My husband, Kevin, and I recently taught a group of teenagers at our church and during the last class, we presented the students with certificates and a few of them received ribbons for their performance. I also presented my husband with a ribbon, which read World’s Best Husband to express my appreciation for his help with the class. He was completely surprised and hung the ribbon on a kitchen cabinet when we returned home. That simple blue ribbon from the 99 cents store was worth a million dollars. He said he felt like he was on top of the world. He acted differently, his attitude was different, and he even walked differently! It was funny to me at first; I thought he was just acting, yet after a week passed and he was still on cloud nine, I realized just how important the blue ribbon was to him. My words are powerful to my husband. If I tell him he can do something, he knows he can do it without a doubt. If I give him a compliment, he smiles and stands tall. Now, on the other hand, I am also capable of letting the air out of his ego balloon and stripping him of every ounce of confidence he has with my words. I’ve been guilty of this in the past, yet breaking my husband’s spirit also breaks our oneness, our marriage. There is a little boy in every man and they need affirmation, admiration, and appreciation on a daily basis. Even when they don’t quite meet our expectations, positive words can change their attitude and how they feel about themselves. I didn’t say we could change THEM, yet our words have a major impact on who they are and who they become.