Big Dumb Guy

You would never guess to look at me, but I am a big dumb guy. Not on the outside, but on the inside. And it is what is on the inside that counts. No, I didn't forget Valentine's Day. Let me give you an example.

About a year ago I had an interview with our Stake President. An EQP PPI thing. He asked about my oldest son who was 12 at the time. I said he was fine. He asked what he was good at. And my mind went blank. The question caught me off guard. This is where the big dumb guy inside started thinking.

I thought of how I would like to say that he is a big strong kid who is doing well at sports. But that wasn't true. My son is a small skinny kid with no interest or aptitude in sports. I thought of how I would like to say that he is a really smart kid and does well at school. But that wasn't true either. He's not terribly smart and really struggles in school. He has to work hard just to get C's. My mind scrambled in this awkward 10 seconds of silence as I tried to come up with something I could say about my son. I put down the big dumb guy inside and really started to think. Not about what I wanted my son to be, but who he was. Then I knew exactly what to say about him.

'He is the most Christ-like person I know', I said. And I meant it.

So many of the characteristics that we attribute to Christ my son has in abundance. The character that great men strive their entire lives to build exists in my boy. He is kind, nice, obedient, eager-to-please, sympathetic, even empathetic, sensitive, charitable, etc., etc. That is what he is good at.

I am grateful for a son who is giving me important things to be proud of. I hope that I can be more aware of his less obvious talents. I hope that I can help him overcome his weaknesses. I hope that he can take his talents, which are somewhat passive in nature, and become an able husband and father himself.