My husband won’t get a pedicure. I’ve begged him to join me for a quick 30-minutes of footwork (pun intended), but he’s laughed me off every time.
I have to respect the man that my husband is. Sometimes I’m bossy. I’m the oldest of three children so part of it might stem from my years of giving orders to my younger brother and sister, but mostly, it’s just me.
I don’t want to get into the details or divisiveness on how much a wife should submit. That’s not what this is about. Instead, it’s about being unselfish. It’s about respect.
Ephesians 5:33 is pretty clear about this. It says,
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
My husband has been blessed with leadership qualities because he’s following Christ, and because of that, it’s selfish of me to try to take that away from him.
Sometimes I think I can do things better, but even if that’s true, I have to be willing to let go of my command. Our husbands deserve our faith in them and one of the best ways to show that is to let him lead. Because if he’s following the Lord, that authority is perfect.
That doesn’t mean our husbands are perfect, but wives, we can’t point to their mistakes. Instead, we can praise their hard work. Every so often I’ll wrap a note around Derek’s keys or sneak it into his suitcase when he’s traveling just to tell him how much I appreciate him and how confident I am in him.
Because our husbands, however many they are, are also human. That’s why our words mean so much to them.
Here’s what Nancy C. Anderson, the author of Avoiding the Greener Grass Syndrome, says,
Instead of waiting for him to earn your respect, behave respectfully and watch him grow into the man God designed him to be.”
My husband likes red meat and baseball and hot sauce. I can’t make him watch “Gilmore Girls” or Lifetime with me. He’ll probably never get a pedicure and all that is okay.
Because sometimes they surprise you, and it’s one of the best parts of marriage. Derek surprises me sometimes. He sits down to watch girly TV with me. He doesn’t touch his phone. He doesn’t fall asleep, and I’m more in love with him than ever.
Manhood these days seem rare, so wives, let’s not cut into that anymore. It’s not about just serving your husband steaks. It’s about letting your husband do what he was created to do: BE A MAN.
FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR:
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Texas with her amazing husband. She is a Texas A&M University graduate and has worked for several newspapers in Texas. She blogs at amandacasanova.wordpress.com and is a writer for Whole Magazine.
