On Marriage, Love, and Respect

I love James.

Like…a lot.

I've said it before, he's a man of God. He works hard to provide for our family. He's generous, compassionate, and full of grace. I'm so blessed to be married to him.

But what I am most amazed by is his desire to make our marriage a priority.

Don't get me wrong here…we argue…we disagree…we bicker….and yes, we even fight {gasp}.

But we made a vow, a commitment to the Lord; to love, honor, and respect each other.
For better or worse.

I love this photo…look at him…he's so focused on the symbol of our future. 

And he looks happy.

The best wedding gift we received was this book.

The author speaks of the importance of love and respect in a marriage. 

A woman desires unconditional love from her husband. 

A man needs to feel respected from his wife.  

Think about it…

When you have argued with your spouse, did you feel loved? Did you show him that you respected him?

If you are anything like me,  you did not show him how much you respected him.

I cannot even begin to go through all of the details of this book with you. 

So I say buy it, get it from the library, or borrow it from a friend. 

Just read it. 

Read it together. 

Here are some of the practical ways I try to show James I respect him:

I listen to him. I hear what he says. 

I validate his opinion.

I listen to the desires of his heart, and I strive to make them my desires as well.

I trust him with financial decisions.

I trust him with family decisions.

I trust him with decisions about our faith.

Please don't get me wrong…I am not close to being perfect with these things. I fail daily at expressing how I much I respect him. 

But I know how important it is to him, and to our marriage.

He tries equally hard to show me how loved I am.

He wakes up with the boys, allowing me a few precious moments of sleep.

He listens to me whine about my day, without judgement.

He showers me with words of encouragement.

We made a commitment to make our marriage work. And this is a daily thing we must work on. 

I love him; he loves me, and we want to have a good marriage for our kids to see. 

I want them to have a strong marriage. 

That starts with us.