Did you know your heart produces enough energy in one day to drive a truck 20 miles? In an average lifetime that's the equivalent of to the moon and back! I find that pretty awesome, considering Titus 2:4 says:
"women [are] to love their husbands"
Producing enough energy to love my husband to the moon and back means it'll be a lifelong journey.
A lifelong commitment.
A rocky one, for sure. One filled with all kinds of asteroids, but a committed one, nevertheless.
LOVE:
an intense feeling of deep affection
There are many ways love can be defined. However, the greatest possible love is to put another's needs before our own.
A "Submissive Wife Adorned with Grace" is a picture of love.
Just as Jesus laid down His life and gave himself up for each one of us, so should a wife submit to the position the Lord has entrusted to her and consistently esteem her husband's needs as greater than her own.
When we esteem another, we lift them up. We help them. We encourage them.
A wise woman genuinely seeks to bless her husband as much as possible in every situation. She is his "help meet", his "helper suitable", his "ezer kenegdo". If you're not sure what that means you can find it here.
In day to day life it looks like this:
- He's trimming the bushes- she helps clean up the branches.
- He's hungry- she plans and prepares healthy meals.
- He needs to talk- she listens attentively.
- He is discouraged- she encourages.
- He needs sex- she engages willingly.
She conducts herself lovingly. She wisely assesses each situation and purposely chooses to act and speak in a way that he will not feel belittled or frustrated. In all relationships, you can see the one doing the blessing is in turn esteemed greater than the one receiving the blessing.
Do you bless your husband?
A wise woman also knows her husbands view of love & marriage is very different than her own. This does not make him wrong, stupid or heartless. Rather she operates with gracious insight, seeking to know and anticitpate his needs as much as he himself does. Then accommodating those needs to the best of her ability.
Doing so does not mean she is a doormat. It simply means she is a wise, insightful woman, who has a pure genuine love for the man God has blessed her with.
She is one who focuses on other's rather than herself, knowing that dwelling on her own wants and feelings will only lead to dissatisfaction and dissension.
A wife, submissive to her God ordained position, cannot afford the time nor the energy it takes to maintain an unloving attitude.
Because of the way she is loved by Jesus, she can graciously extend love to her husband.
I didn't deserve to be loved enough to be saved from my sins, but Jesus died for me anyway. Am I willing to die to my "self", and appreciative of His grace, in turn graciously extend love to my husband?
Again, do I bless my husband?
Do I love my husband the way he needs to be loved or the way I think he deserves to be loved?
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Take a virtual coffee break for your homemaker's heart! Visit the top right side bar and join today!
You might also like other characteristics of SWAG.....
She Exudes Joy
She Exudes Peace
She Exudes Patience
She Exudes Kindness
She Exudes Goodness
She Exudes Faithfulness
She Exudes Gentleness
She Exudes Self-Control
Linking up with these wonderful blogs!
Holley Gerth
Woman to Woman, Messy Marriage
Thanks again for the encouragement!! Yes my husband deserves far more than I give!!! Your writing have really encouraged me to "step it up"!! God bless!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Ruth! I hope the writings don't get too repetitive, but feel there is such a need for a wifes role to be addressed lovingly & straightforwardly. I never cease to be convicted by the things He puts on my paper. Probably because I'm the one who needs to "step it up" the most! :) All the honor & glory to Him!
DeleteI love this. I've never heard the amount of energy it takes in such a real life way.
ReplyDeleteIt's rewardingly exhausting! ;)
DeleteThank you for the encouragement. I do try to be a blessing to my hubby, but I also know that rolling my eyes(my version of rebellion) isn't a help to anyone. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteYeah...eyerolling is definately something I need to work on as well. Thank you for stopping by, Sandy! Blessings!
DeleteGreat encouragement! I'm trying to be a loving wife and mom and blogger and its hard not to let it all get jumbled up! But being a wife is my first calling and so I have to make Him feel loved more! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteLife gets crazy and trying to add blogging to it has really stretched me! It has brought good things though, like challenging me to prioritize time and be a more disciplined person. Thank you for reading & leaving encouragement! Blessings!
DeleteWhat a beautiful post on the meaning of true love.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an encouraging post! It's hard to step up our game as wives when we have a lot on our plate as well, but this helps us remember that we Re part of a union and he (our husbands) needs to feel / see our love too.
ReplyDeleteOur love language may be different, but we have the same goals.
Yes! I'm guilty of taking it for granted that "he just knows" I love him. However, it's not long before tensions rise & we realize the other needs a little bit of filling up! Thank you for blessing me with your readership, Kalley. To Him the Glory!
DeleteI think your last statement sums up how to love our husband's well. I tend to want to give him the type of love I cherish. I have to remember the actions he cherishes are unique to him. I need to do bless him with things he values. Great reminder. And I didn't know the energy the heart produces, either! Amazing!
ReplyDelete