Self respect, I was 23 when i met him, and a bit on the "wild" side. He made me realize i deserved to be treated with respect, and HE demanded everyone else treat me with it as well. Because of this, i have two very respectful sons, and I respect myself. in our 24 years together, he NEVER once disrespected me,in any manner. Even in heated discussions, he NEVER put me down, or cursed me, as i seen by so many guys in this world. HE never believed a man should talk to a lady in a disrespectful manor.

LOVE! Which in turn gave me the greatest gifts of my life ~~ my children. I realize you are asking about strengths of character, but, the ones I just stated are still his greatest gifts to me. Also, confidence. He always assumed I could do whatever I set my mind to do, and, of course, with his belief in me, I did. Because he always challenged me, the determination I always had increased. Thanks for the topic, Tru.
Hugs, Joely

The gifts becci gave me were priceless. There's love of course and devotion and all the standards but the one that sticks with me more than any other is she gave me the realization that someone could actually love me. I never believed that and to this day don't understand why anyone would, but she made me believe that I could and was loved. That gift is priceless.

Joely, any gift, not just character. My first husband gave me the gift of salads. He was always eating them and so I tried it and loved them. I'm sure I'm a healthier person due to these salads which I now eat 5 days a week.

The opportunity to finally know what true unconditional love is like and, for a few short years, the chance to be in a perfect marriage.

AMEN to that answer Dianne. That is the best gift that Mark ever gave to me - the unconditional love that I never knew really existed. The feeling that my heart was safe, secure with him - that he would never hurt me, that he always had my back and I could ALWAYS count on him. And, like Dianne, the opportunity to have a perfectly loving marriage - a perfect partnership - if only for a short time.
I will be forever grateful for this...........He was the best.........
Chris

My husband definitely gets the award for building my confidence higher each year we were married. He also had the patience of a brick layer, and I learned thru the years to acknowledge this and practice it as well. Above all, our children were truly a blessing to both of us. Thanks, Tru!
Kate

I have to agree with Chris and Dianne. Unconditional love, safety and security that I'd never known before. Unfortunately, I only got to experience it for a few short years.

Cliff and I had a rocky marriage - more downs than ups. There were a whole lot of things missing in our relationship. But beyond the obvious good things he gave me like our two beautiful boys, the thing I treasured the most was intellectual companionship. I never had to "dummy-down" for him. A lot of men can't stand a woman with brains, but Cliff revelled in it. That might sound kooky to some, but in my work life I have had to dummy-down a lot - and I hate it. Even if he completely disagreed with me on a topic, he never did so in a way that was disrespectful of my intellect. He was never dismissive of my intelligence, and that bolstered my courage to try different things and face different things.

Good topic Tru!

There are too many things to add them all, but the greatest gift was unconditional love and mirroring the best in me back to me until I could see the person that he saw. He was perfect to me just the way he was and I was perfect to him just the way that I was. We never tried to change each other and because of that the 12 short years that we had together were the most wonderful years of our lives.

He also taught me and all of our children respect. We are all much better people because of him and I feel whole still because he made me whole.

hugs...
-Diana

Wow, Truhal, this is a great topic.
It is too difficult to come up with an answer though.
Bob blessed my life in so many ways. He always showed me his unconditional love , I always knew he'd be there for me..... no matter what, he cared deeply about whatever I cared about.
He cared for me so much and just wanted to take such good care of me. He provided for our family in so many ways....
He showed our daughters how to be treated by a loving husband.

I could go on and on..... sorry.... Bob was truly a wonderful, loving, godly husband.

Linda

My husband gave me independence. He taught me I could do many things on my own. Learned to investigate and question.

This has helped me greatly on this journey of being a widow.

Hugs,

Holly

Marti gave me many gifts, but the ones that are most important are my three children. i see her in all of them.
She also gave me the gifts of happiness, generosity and love. Her mantra was always, "If you don't have anything good to say about someone, don't say anything at all."
Man, I miss her.

Roger gave me a chance at a new relationship full of fun and love.
One month after our first date I was DX with breast cancer, he took me in and took care of me. We shared some fun things together where we were both alone before from divorce. That sharing and caring with someone was great. I hate thinking now I am alone.

The greatest gift of all, to love and be loved.