Respecting Your Spouse

The other night I read one of my friend’s blog posts to Hector out loud. A topic she mentioned in it was about respecting your husband. I couldn’t believe what a slap in the face it turned out to be. As I read it to Hector and then took a quick glance at his face I suddenly realized that, I, little ‘ole me, was under-appreciating my own husband. Mind you, I had read this exact post before without any revelation whatsoever but what made a difference this time was seeing Hector’s face as I read it. His face quiet and sympathetic. His eyes a gaze at the floor. His lips closed in reserve. His brows lifted in thought. I understood that as I continued reading he was finding himself relating to my friend’s husband as well. Suddenly the light bulb went on over my head and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

"House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD." Proverbs 19:14

He’s done so much for me over the past 15 years that we’ve been a couple. It’s been so long that I just tend to feel that he should know how much I love him and appreciate him. But does he really? We’ve been married for almost nine years and living together has really tried our hearts and patience. At first the days passed, then the months, now the years have passed so quickly. And maybe if I stop to listen to him I can actually hear a faint cry for help. In my eyes, it’s obvious how much I love him but I’ve realized that in his eyes things might seem a little different.

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word...So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself..." Ephesians 5:25-28


He does so much for me. He knows that with my disease I quickly lose my breath by hauling the heavy vacuum back and forth, so he vacuums for me. He knows that doing the laundry is exhausting for me, so he does the laundry. He knows that going up the stairs while carrying our little 21 pound baby takes my breath away, so he does that for me, sometimes several times in one day. He carries the backpack and Lisamarie to and from our car at the parking lots wherever we might go. He picks up everything off the floor even if it’s right by my feet, just so I don’t bend over. After work he’ll stop by the grocery store and pick up whatever we might need, cook dinner, then finish picking up all the toys in the living room and shower sometimes at 11 o’ clock at night. I can’t believe how much he does for me. How much he does for us, his family. Yeah, sometimes he complains and other times he says nothing. His days are so busy and filled with problems and responsibilities and still he admits that all he wants is to be at home with us, pesky brats.

He’s my husband. The one that showed me what True love was all about. The one that stood out from all the rest in High School. The one that spoke words of wisdom, when everyone else just wanted to go drinking and clubbing. The one that valued me even more so than my first hero, my dad. Hector, has always been the voice of inspiration and good judgment. The one that constantly makes me understand that God sees me as a precious treasure. He is my love and I his. Oh Lord, I give him to You, take care of him and bless him mightily.

"Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the LORD. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them." Colossians 3:18-19

"However, in the LORD, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God." 1 Corinthians 11:11-12

Thanks Lorayne for the sincerity and humility you provide in your blogposts!
http://www.recoveringbrat.blogspot.com (Lorayne Nazur’s blog)