critical things

It's been a good weekend. Byron and I went to a marriage conference at our church with Dr Mark and Alison Rutland. We've been to their conference twice before many years ago and learned a lot. At this conference some things were the same, some were different and some of the same things had light shined on them. The Lord is good to me like that. He's always on target with where I am at the moment and gives me help just when I need it most.

At the conference I learned (once again) that I need to express admiration for my husband. As much as we females need care and love, males need admiration. I can honestly say there are many things I admire about my husband. He's a strong Christian man. He's hardworking and a good breadwinner. He's fun. He's supportive of my dreams. He's a good friend to his buddies. He's a good dad. He loves me.

But I have been very critical lately. Everything gets on my last nerve. It seems I'm the only one who knows how to drive, how to eat, how to breathe, even how to chew gum. Not very nice, huh?

No, it's not.

Trouble is, it's hard to sneak admiration in between griping about his driving and the way he chews his gum. Something about it just doesn't ring true when it's sandwiched in like that. I've been bad about it lately and I'm not proud of it.

That's when the the Lord enlightens me again. That's when He shines His light on it for me and gives me a chance to do better now. He leads me to look beyond the small things and cherish again the husband He gave me in my youth, to keep our love from growing cold and stale. He allows me to see it and change it before it seems unfixable.

So, by God's grace, and with His help, I will focus on my dear one's strengths, of which there are many. I will let him know of all the things he does right as opposed to the unimportant things that I let irritate me. The Bible says it best and I want my example to be the best of all;

1 Cor 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Thank you, Lord, for the insight and the desire to change what needs changing. I love you.

Suz