More on reverence.

If you haven't read my first post on the subject, start there and then come back.

I just read on to the next chapter of Created to Be His Help Meet and there it tells more about what we as wives can do to reverence our hubbies. A lot of it is what I had already thought up in my reflections from last chapter. But it's still so good to hear...

"Reverence is not just how you act; it is how you feel and how you respond with words and with your body language. It is not enough to get up and serve him; your eyes and the quick, carefree swing of your body must indicate your delight to be engaged in serving your man. You cannot fool a man. He can see your heart as well or better than you can. Keep an eye on his dinner plate so you can anticipate his needs. Deference is a hot cup of tea while you take his shoes off after a hard day's work. It is a glad face when he returns after being gone for a short time. It is thankfulness for his attention and affection. Deference to your man is the height of true femininity. It makes a woman beautiful, gracious, and lovely to all, but most especially to him." (137)

Now before I go any further, I just wanted to say that in reading the previous chapter I had to look up the word deference because it was not a term I'd heard before and the dictionary defines deference as respectful submission. Okay, moving on...

"You cannot command your husband to love you, and you have no right to expect him to love you when you are unlovely. But God has provided a way for a woman to cause her husband to love and cherish her. God gave us ladies some keys to the avenues of a man's heart. God made it so that we can actually manipulate him into fulfilling his God-ordained duty. His very nature is made to respond to us if we will only treat him with reverence." (139)

Now there is a lot about that whole paragraph that I don't like, especially about manipulating our husbands. Manipulate is such an ugly word, and that is not at all the intent. The focus should always remain on how we are serving our God by serving and reverencing our husbands. But the paragraph does show how powerful we are to our man and how when we clean up our own actions, the rest will [but not always] fall into place.

"A man will allow his woman many, many, faults, as long as he knows that she thinks he is great. If she will just look into his face with adoration, if she is thankful to him for loving her, he will adore her." (140)

Read on, this is so me!

"Women, on the other hand, want their husbands to perform. They expect them to be spiritual, hardworking, diligent, sensitive, and an attentive parent, or they will take personal offense and begin to campaign to change him into 'their' image. I find it amazing that a woman would marry a MAN and then become angry because he continues to act like one." (141)

Ah, yes, that is so definitely how I am guilty of thinking! BUT I am learning to be thankful for the basics that are so easy to take for granted. Like being thankful for his attention, love, stability, faithfulness, security, etc.

So if you've read my last post about reverencing your husband, then here is a little more to think about! Blessings to you and your marriage!