Have you heard the expression “There is nothing like a mother’s love”?
As I sat with my children at the breakfast table, I was overcome by my love for them. I stared at each one, desiring to memorize every detail of their faces. In awe and wonder, I thanked the Lord for how He handcrafted each of their physical features as well as their personalities. How can one doubt God’s existence when He is so evident in the creation of life? With a smile on my face, I told my children that I was amazed, awestruck, and in love with being their mother.
Then it hit me: I don’t notice God in my husband the way I do in my children.
Certainly I am not called to be my husband’s mother. I am not called to instruct him, educate him, or shepherd his heart. There is a unique bond that is specifically for mother and child, and no one can deny the power that is contained within a mother’s love.
However, my husband deserves a wife who realizes that he is a one-of-a- kind creation. A wife who regards her husband’s existence as evidence of the goodness of God. A wife who sees her husband as a unique gift from the Lord and can view him (and his humanity) through God’s eyes.
It sounds almost fictitious to be a wife who marvels at her husband—one who stops, in the midst of her busyness, to memorize the details of his aging face. Idealistic or not, I want to be that wife! I desire to see my husband and immediately thank God for His creation (not only because of his physical features but his personality and talents as well). I don’t want to see my husband as just another person or even a peer but as someone the Lord created just for me.
Today, however, I am not that wife. When it comes to my children, watching them is like watching my heart walk around outside of my body. A cruel word to them is a cruel word to me. A joyous milestone for them is a joyous milestone to me. I am mesmerized by trains and fire trucks because they are of interest to my sons. It isn’t the same with my husband. I don’t take on his interests as my own, and my pride in his accomplishments doesn’t seem to match my pride in my children’s accomplishments. Clearly, I have much room for improvement in this area!
As I reflect on the phrase “There is nothing like a mother’s love,” I want to coin a new phrase:
“There is nothing like a wife’s love!”
Because a husband and wife are partners and life-mates, a wife’s love for her husband should be fiercer, more passionate, more intentional, and more genuine than any other love she ever experiences. After all, they are one! When it comes to a mother’s love, realistically, the best thing she can do for her children is love their father fervently. And for a wife without kids, she should love her husband more deeply than she loves her friends, coworkers, or family members.
That’s the kind of wife I want to be! I want my husband to walk out the doors of our house every day knowing that his wife loves him unlike any other.
How would your attitude toward your husband and your appreciation of him increase if you would choose to see him as a gift from God?
Edited by Mary Anne Brady – Affordable & Meticulous Editing Services at www.bradyediting.com
Linking up with Motivation Monday Whimsical Wednesdays and Wedded Wednesday.
Beth says
I’ve often thought about this imbalanced phenomenon in my own life, Darby. My love for my kids is so deep and undefiled (even if they are stubborn and rebellious). There just seems to be this extra dose of grace and unconditional love in a mom’s heart. But I completely agree that we should not let this inequity remain as is. I’m taking your great challenge and focusing on the many ways God is evident in his life. What an inspiring post, my friend!
darbyd says
Thank you, Beth, for your encouragement! So glad to have you back! Been praying for you today as you take your son to college.
island girl says
I want to start out by saying that I do not normally write comments on pages that I read…and, I will make this brief.
Echoing Beth’s sentiments exactly, I thank you for this post. Today, I am not “that wife”, either. I want to be! Inspired, I, too, am taking on the challenge!
Thank you, again.
darbyd says
I am so glad that you commented! I really appreciate hearing from you. You’re very welcome for the post… glad you can relate to my own struggles to be “that wife” — I will be praying for both of us as we strive to be all that He has called us to be!