This morning as my husband and I were getting coffee, making breakfast and cleaning out the dishwasher.  While doing so, we discussed the day ahead and made a list of items to pick up at the grocery store.  We were apparently being very ambitious, because normally these tasks are done one at a time, not all at once.

It is also trash day, so I was taking inventory of any outdated food in the fridge and items I needed to recycle.  Then I noticed the treats on the counter which my husband picks up from the bakery.  I recalled I’d made a mental note to toss the box today, then remembered it was a new box of treats from our recent visit to the store.

It’s a fortunate and unfortunate cycle.  He picks up the fresh bakery treats because they will be the perfect complement to a meal or because he likes to have a desert occasionally.  He has a few and then a week or more passes and the bakery box sits with untouched treats. 

It’s rare for me to indulge so each month we throw away at least half of the bakery treats.  The box on the counter for me is simply a box.  This morning however, I learned the box on the counter is much more to my husband. 

When I asked if he’d had a cookie last night, he retorted, “why’d you point out my fault”.  To which I laughed.  It was not my intention to hurt his feelings or point out a mistake, but this is what happened. He’d apparently seen the bakery box when he entered the kitchen and cursed himself for not having the cookie.

The bakery box is full of something he wants.  It is a treat after all and should be saved.  However, he also knows we throw away sometimes more than consumed and this makes him upset because we are wasting food and money.  The struggle is real!

I had no idea how much unrest this bakery box on the counter caused my husband until this morning.  His choice of words imply it is something he is consciously working to improve and sees as a fault within himself.  It should be easy to eat these tasty bakery treats, right?

The thing about faults, is that each person sees them differently.  What one person sees as a fault such a gap between their front teeth, another sees as an identifying quality or characteristic. 

Faults are also very difficult for one to overlook, it’s one of those things that stand out immediately when you look in a mirror or walk in the room.  Once you know it exists, it’s unforgettable.

Though like the phrase, ‘beauty is the eyes of the beholder’ or ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure,’ faults are subjective.  The bakery box on the counter is one thing to me and another thing to my husband.

Coincidentally, our individual relationships with the bakery box can tell a person something about each of us.  One could conclude my husband likes to splurge on the things he wants and he also takes good care of those things, placing much value on them, saving them for a special occasion.  Further that he doesn’t like to waste things, especially things with value. 

As for me, it’s something I take care of because it is special to someone I love.  I tend to be the person who does this for others. I pick up the mail when family is out of town, I feed a friends cat while they are on vacation, I go sit with my daughter’s dog even though I’m not a dog person and I go check that the garage door is closed.  If it’s important to someone I love, I take care of it, even if I am not a fan of whatever the task.

In the end, I believe this fault my husband sees in himself is one of the things that I love about him.  Hopefully my little tale will inspire you to overlook some of the faults you see in yourself because those things may be a portal to God’s love!