That's what counts

Back in college, I was having a conversation with a friend about a boy that I liked, who I thought might like me back, but I wasn't sure. My friend, being a great friend, told me he'd be an idiot if he didn't like me, and proceeded to list off my positive qualities - I was smart, funny, didn't have a unibrow... I stopped her there, laughing, to point out that the only reason I didn't have a unibrow was because I plucked out those stubborn hairs on a regular basis. Then she said something that stuck with me, because it applied to more than just unibrows. She said, "That's what counts."

And she was right, both about my unibrow and about the other more significant things I struggle with on a regular basis. What counts is the fact that I got out of bed this morning and did what needed to be done today, even though all I wanted to do was curl up under the covers and never come out. What counts is the fact that I read my Bible and attempt to pray every night before bed, even when I'd rather be watching a TV show or reading a book. What counts is the fact that I'm working on being kind and patient with others, even if I keep slipping up and having to apologize and reset and try again.

What counts is not the existence of brokenness and sin in my life, but the fact that I don't give up or give in. Like those frustrating hairs that keep coming back, my life here on this earth will always contain its share of struggles, ones that crop up over and over again. But having struggles doesn't mean I'm a failure, any more than having hair follicles in annoying places means I have a unibrow. It's how I live in the middle of the rough patches (and the high points) of life that matters. That's what counts.

And that boy, the one that I liked? Turns out he did like me back, and we've been married for seven and a half years now. I guess my lack of a unibrow was sufficiently appealing to him.