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Patience helps you give your spouse permission to be human. Love is built on two pillars that best define what it is. Those pillars are patience and kindness. Choose to respond with patience towards your husband in all things.
Let me just confess that I am NOT a patient person. You come up with a great idea & BAM!? I want it done yesterday. That is something that I have been fighting within myself for a very long time. Ben and I have had several conversations throughout our marriage about how different our "time tables" are for certain things.
Today I am trying to be patient with our "Managing our finances God's Way" study and Ben. He loves all of the handy computer tools that come with it. I am more of a write it down in the ledger kind of girl. (Yep still old-fashioned in a lot of things!)
I understand that this study is #1 important for our finances, but more importantly #2 is extremely important topic to my husband. So before he left for work, I fought the urge to run back to my sewing projects when he broke out our receipts to enter into the program.
I know that I am starting small but I am hoping that I will develop this "patience" thing into a new & better habit for our marriage!
Let's set ourselves up for contentment with our spouse and for acceptance of his love expressions. In a world full of tv shows like the Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars, we might start to think our love is rather unexciting and uninspiring. Instead of expecting our love to look like relationship images we are about to be bombarded with through media, let's turn our attention to what God's desire is for romance:
Ephesians 5:25-28
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
That's intense love, friends! That's passion! Top that Fabio!
God wants a beautiful, faithful romance for us, and obedience to His truth leads to that kind of love. Valentines Day is two weeks away. Think about what's TRUE about the spouse God gave you. Take every thought captive as suggestions come your way, and start celebrating the love you share today, even if the calendar says you should do it February 14th. ;)
Today Proverbs 31 ministries at www.proverbs31.org had to say this about marriage......
These small stitches offer us a lesson for our marriages. In Matthew 19:6 Jesus says, "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate." God says a married couple becomes "one flesh" when they marry, and they work out that oneness all the days of their lives.
One way to establish that oneness is to make small, daily "stitches" to strengthen the fabric of marriage. These small habits don't take much time or effort, but they do require intentionality.
Consider your thoughts toward your husband and marriage – When he's having a stressful day, do you think he needs to get over his bad mood, or do you think about how you can encourage and support him? Maybe you walk through the messy garage and think it's about time your husband cleaned it up. Instead you can think about how you and the kids can help with that project.
Consider your words – How do you speak to your husband? Do your words cut him down or lift him up? Also, think about your words to others about your husband. Decide today that your kids, mother, and best friend will hear you praise your husband, not criticize him.
Consider your actions – Jesus was a servant who laid down His rights to love others. How can you be a vessel of Christ's love toward your spouse? Show him your love by simple actions such as cheering him on at his softball game, picking up his favorite snack at the store, and making intimacy a priority.
Practicing these small habits will help our marriages stay intact, just the like the tiny quilting stitches of Granny's quilt. Prayerfully consider the various areas addressed here. Ask God to show you how you can strengthen the oneness in your marriage. You'll be glad you took time to sew some stitches today, knowing that the fabric of your marriage will hold tightly against the pulls and pressures of tomorrow.
Dear Lord, open my eyes and heart to small, daily habits I can practice today to strengthen the oneness of my marriage. Give me a willing heart to honor my marriage by investing in it daily. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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