Hard to Love

I sometimes wonder why my husband still cares to dance with me.  

Some days I am impatient.  Some days my attitude stinks.  Often I am over scheduled and in a rush.  Too many times, he has gotten lost in the shuffle of appointments and expectations.

Yet this gentle soul that the Lord brought to me as a blessing to my life looks past my bad habits and poor attitudes.  He looks past my busyness and the many ways I might annoy him and concentrates on loving me for who I am.  

In many ways he is the opposite of me. He inspires me to be gracious, kind, loving, and forgiving. God knew exactly what He was doing when he He joined the two of us together.  

Proverbs 18:22 says “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”  My husband would probably agree with this on most days.  Today my heart feels that the same is true for a wife who finds a husband who loves her.  It is a very good thing and the favor of the Lord is definitely upon it.

Dear wife, please know that not every day is great.  Not every moment is filled with adoration. We won’t always see eye to eye and there may be moments of intense silence. We won’t always find each other funny, and we sometimes run out of patience. We get angry, hurt, and sad. 

But let’s not forget the great gift of a husband who despite many faults, inspires us to be a little better today than we were yesterday, and who will always hold out his hand for us when we need it.

Let’s use our husband’s unique ability to love us as we are to encourage us to do the same.

Wife Step:  In what ways can you appreciate your husband?  What are the endearing things that you tend to take for granted?  Have you let life get in the way of appreciating those little things?  Be purposeful today by recognizing, appreciating, and then telling your husband the ways you’re thankful for him.

Betty Predmore is an author, speaker, blogger, and ministry leader. Betty has experienced broken homes, divorce, abuse, grief, being a single mother, blended families, and adoption.  Betty uses the broken places and movement of God in her own life to share God’s Word in an inspiring way, sprinkled with honesty, humor, and encouragement, and reflecting the love of Jesus to all she meets. 

Betty is the Founding Director of two community faith-based ministries.  Mom-Sense helps women overcome life struggles through small group classes with biblical curriculum, individual counseling, bibles studies, and other areas of support.  The Imperial Valley Coalition for Life is a pro-life organization that values the sanctity of life and encourages women to choose life by offering various means of support throughout pregnancy and infancy.

Betty has published two devotionals:  Pondering Virtue and Whispered Grace. Betty is honored to be a part of the A Wife Like Me contributor team.  She has also contributed to other publications such as Southern Faith Magazine, Purposeful Life, and Aspiring Woman Magazine.  She is also a contributor for several online Christian blogging sites.

Of all her roles in life, Betty is most honored to be wife to Jim and mama to a brood of 7, which includes biological and adopted children.