My friend Sara was in Target with her family. After the list had been completed, the kids asked if they could go play with the toys. She and her husband agreed that they could. As the two of them followed along behind the kids, her husband looked at her and said “Well, I must be doing a pretty good job of providing for my family if my kids know where the toy section of the store is.”
In that moment, Sara had a choice. She could say nothing. She could make a sarcastic comment. She could agree with him. Or she could see what his heart was pleading for and give it to him – to know that his wife and kids respect him and what he does.
Sara, who had recently been thinking more about respect and what that really meant in her marriage, saw the opportunity and seized it.
“Honey, you do provide for us. You do a great job. I know you work hard at your job, and that you don’t really like it right now, and that makes it mean so much more that you are willing to do that to take care of me and the kids. Thank you for doing that.”
We all have choices in how we interact with our husbands. Sometimes it’s really easy to be respectful. He just did the dishes. Got a raise. Planned a romantic evening away. Suggested visiting a museum you like. Played with the kids.
And sometimes, it’s just not. When we disagree, when we’re emotional, when we’re tired – it’s not easy to just be respectful. It’s work. It’s a choice. It’s a habit. But it does make an immense difference.
Matthew 7:13-14 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
It’s the narrow road, the road to respect. It’s not often taken by wives in our culture. And it isn’t about being perfect – it’s about honoring God in the journey and walking with Him down that narrow road.
I dare you today to seize the opportunities placed before you to surprise your husband with a respectful and meaningful comment. And I dare you to share it in the comments section below. Don’t expect a reaction – you are not trying to manipulate your husband to garner a desirable response. You just want to respect your husband.
Thanks, I needed that encouragement this morning! Respect is a choice — even when my feelings are otherwise today. A hard choice though — God, give me strength to choose respect!
My husband works his butt of to provide for us. He doesn’t feel like he does a good job because we live with his mom, but things are slowly being worked out by God, and it’s because my husband is faithful in working hard and not being ideal. I love my husband so much