Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
I am a very lucky woman. I have a wonderful husband. I know, I know, I talk about this all the time, but I just can not help it.
I would have thought that by now, the "honeymoon" period would have worn off. Everyone said what hard work it is to be married, so I would have thought by now, it would seem a little like work. But it has not, it has never seemed like anything but an immense blessing. Sure, there have been unpleasant things to deal with, there always are. But never have the unpleasant situations been created by one of us lashing out at the other, hurting the other. Never is there anything but love between us. Sure, we might annoy each other because we snore and wake wake each other up (both of us), or I might be disappointed that Hubby's work schedule prevents us from doing things we would like to do sometimes, and goodness knows my choice of television is not always what Hubby would prefer (Glee anyone?), but that never gets in the way of our love for each other.
The thing with Hubby is, he loved me before he ever even dated me. Before he ever had a romantic feeling for me, he loved me as a person. All throughout our friendship and courtship, I would tell him my amazement for the depth of his caring. I had never experienced that from anyone other than my family. He would get angry when people hurt me, and would demand better for me when I was mistreated, simply because he loved and respected me as a person. Once real romantic love entered the picture, that loving, protective nature grew exponentially.
I have often thought of what a wonderful example of Christian love my husband has been. Starting with helping me when I was a relative stranger, his love and care grew into friendship, and then romance. But he would have, and for several years did, love and care for me with no expectation of romantic reciprocity. He loved me because it was his nature, not because he expected anything. Do you know how rare that is? If ever I feel I need to see Jesus at work in my life, I need only to look at my husband.
