What is Love? It's standing in front of tanks and making "disgusting" food

June 4, 1989 Tienanmen Square Beijing, China. College students in China protested the current form of Chinese rule that ultimately ended in China declaring martial law and forcibly suppressing the protests inflicting casualties on unarmed civilians.

What is perhaps most notable from this event in history is depicted in this picture. Commonly referred to as the "Tank Man," the world watched as one man bravely chose to stand in front of a long line of Chinese military tanks after these tanks had effectively squelched the protests from the previous day. As shown in the picture taken from a video of a foreign journalist who risked his live to smuggle the film out of the country, one man - the tank man - took on the might of the Chinese communist military. What is most remarkable about this man and experience is that the colonnade of tanks stopped. This man, for a few short moments brought the Chinese military to its knees.

I do not share the experience of the Tank Man to disparage the country of China in any way. I share it to illustrate one example among millions of examples around the world and throughout time of standing up for what you believe in, doing what is good and wholesome in the face of opposition.

While not an example of standing in front of tanks I do have another example of standing up for what one believes in. After my post from last Sunday I sat pondering other examples of love in my life. Immediately my thoughts turned to my loving wife and the dinner she had just made. She made one of my favorite slow cooker dinners in spite of the opposition from our children. Their opposition could only be described as a Chinese tank brigade that night! I enjoyed the dinner. My kids did not. The evening didn't end very well with me sending most of the kids to bed early as I recall.

But what I sat musing over was that in spite of this trivial opposition to dinner my wife showed me love by making something I enjoyed. What's more, I thought of hundreds of examples where my wife works tirelessly to do what is right for our family in spite of all the messages in our world telling her to do otherwise. It was simply dinner, but for the rest of the week I considered example after example of where my wife does her very best to do what is right. She teaches our kids to pray, she balances a budget, she serves our neighbors, and gives to the less fortunate.

And although a journalist has not captured her contribution and smuggled the video out of country for all the world to see, she gets a thank you online from one insignificant blogger and will get tons of "thank you's" from 5 rambunctious kids in about 15 years when they are old enough to see that what was "disgusting" food as a child was actually the greatest feast of love they have ever seen.

Thank you for your perseverance in standing up to the tanks in the world Megan. It isn't easy being a wife and mom, but it doesn't go unnoticed.

What is Love? It's standing in front of tanks and making "disgusting" food. :-)