A Gift For Valentine's Day Part 2

              Happy Valentine’s Day!  I think this is a great day to remember and celebrate the love that God has placed in our lives, especially when it comes in the form of a husband or wife.  I am writing part two on a gift for Valentine’s Day, so if you missed the first one, you might check it out since it will help you with this one.  In a nutshell, I’m thinking about the premise that God has given my wife to me as a wonderful gift.  When I view her that way and embrace a thankful heart for that gift, it has the potential to revolutionize my marriage.  This idea of my wife as God’s perfect provision for me comes from Genesis 2:22 – “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.” (check out the chapter on Relationships written by Don Meredith in Joe Gibbs’ “Game Plan for Life” for a more complete thought on all of this)

                Now, you may be thinking (hopefully not out loud), my spouse isn’t that great a gift, in fact I’ve got a list of 37 problems with this particular unit, that God should take a look at.  You aren’t alone.  Because of our human nature, most of us don’t always see the “gift” part after a few laps.  Here are a couple of reasons for the conflict we sometimes experience and very real reasons why he/she is truly a gift.

                First of all, we tend to think that this gift was given to us to make us happy, when God’s greater intent is to make us holy.  This is a big difference.  It is not my spouse’s job to make me happy.  God is using that person to make me holy.  More patient.  More gentle.  Kind.  Self-controlled.  More like Jesus-which is the overall goal anyways, right?  What better way to develop these, than to give us a spouse who doesn’t view or do things exactly like we expect and or demand?

                Second, we focus on changing them, while God is focused on changing us.  We think they are the ones who need changing (and if they are human, they do) but God is more interested in changing us.  The Bible doesn’t tell us to go around changing people.  It directs us to look in the mirror and worry about that person.  When we feel it is our call in life to change our spouse, we will be constantly frustrated and disappointed. 

                My final thought on this gift thing is that sometimes a loving parent gives a child what they need not what they want.  No good parent gives a child ice cream and donuts every meal instead of healthy foods.  A loving parent provides what the child needs.  God’s gift, in the person of your spouse, is what you need.  You may not see it or understand it.  Can you trust him? God knows me much better than I even know myself and he has given me a wife so that I will become the person God knows I can become.  What a gift!

                So Happy Valentine’s Day?  Treasure your gift and thank God for them!

 

A Gift For Valentine's Day

                I like Valentine’s Day.  I don’t love it but don’t hate it.  My wife is very practical as well as being very easy to love.  She gets excited about small gifts and expressions of love.  She isn’t looking for You Tube worthy expressions of love each year.  She doesn’t like to go out on Valentine’s Day because she doesn’t like the crowds – that’s her practical side.  So we are able to celebrate the holiday whenever it best fits the schedule and if I show any effort with gifts or flowers, she appreciates it.  That takes the pressure off and makes it a lot more fun for both of us.  So I like Valentine’s Day.  I know I am blessed and that she is a true gift.

                I know that many people don’t like Valentine’s Day – too much pressure to find the right gift, some women don’t like the cliché gifts of flowers, candy etc.  Sorry guys – that would certainly dampen my enthusiasm as well.  (Ladies, if your guy tries, give him some props.  It will encourage him to do more the next time.  We men are really simple creatures.  Tell us we “did good” and we’ll try harder.  Complain about what we tried and we are prone to give up.  Just a thought…)

                I read a thought by Don Meredith in a book called “Game  Plan for Life” and I think it could revolutionize most marriages!  He discusses Genesis 2:22 which says, “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.”  The point here is that instead of creating Eve right beside Adam and having them both wake up next to each other, God apparently took the rib and created Eve somewhere else and then “brought her” to Adam.  Why?  So that Adam would know that Eve was God’s gift to Adam.

                Wow!  Eve was God’s gift to Adam. I love that - applied to us - our spouse is God’s gift to us.  God has given us an incredible gift – a husband, a wife.  That is a great thought.  I have to admit, I haven’t always thought of Kim that way.  In my selfish moments, I am pretty sure her job is to make me happy.  Sometimes she hasn’t filled that role and so I am frustrated, disappointed etc.  Selfish, to be sure.  But when I begin to see her as a gift that God has given me, everything changes, especially if I choose to be thankful for that gift.  God knows me so well and loves me so much, that he has given me an awesome gift.  A wife to love, serve and be with.  That is a blessing.  That is a wonderful gift. 

                How do you view your spouse?  Someone with lots of faults?  Someone who holds you back? Or God’s incredible gift?  It makes all the difference in the world.  It can change your marriage.   It can change you. 

                Just a thought…

(check back for A Valentine’s Day Gift Part 2 on why your spouse is such a great gift!)  

A Gift For Valentine's Day

                I like Valentine’s Day.  I don’t love it but don’t hate it.  My wife is very practical as well as being very easy to love.  She gets excited about small gifts and expressions of love.  She isn’t looking for You Tube worthy expressions of love each year.  She doesn’t like to go out on Valentine’s Day because she doesn’t like the crowds – that’s her practical side.  So we are able to celebrate the holiday whenever it best fits the schedule and if I show any effort with gifts or flowers, she appreciates it.  That takes the pressure off and makes it a lot more fun for both of us.  So I like Valentine’s Day.  I know I am blessed and that she is a true gift.

                I know that many people don’t like Valentine’s Day – too much pressure to find the right gift, some women don’t like the cliché gifts of flowers, candy etc.  Sorry guys – that would certainly dampen my enthusiasm as well.  (Ladies, if your guy tries, give him some props.  It will encourage him to do more the next time.  We men are really simple creatures.  Tell us we “did good” and we’ll try harder.  Complain about what we tried and we are prone to give up.  Just a thought…)

                I read a thought by Don Meredith in a book called “Game  Plan for Life” and I think it could revolutionize most marriages!  He discusses Genesis 2:22 which says, “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.”  The point here is that instead of creating Eve right beside Adam and having them both wake up next to each other, God apparently took the rib and created Eve somewhere else and then “brought her” to Adam.  Why?  So that Adam would know that Eve was God’s gift to Adam.

                Wow!  Eve was God’s gift to Adam. I love that - applied to us - our spouse is God’s gift to us.  God has given us an incredible gift – a husband, a wife.  That is a great thought.  I have to admit, I haven’t always thought of Kim that way.  In my selfish moments, I am pretty sure her job is to make me happy.  Sometimes she hasn’t filled that role and so I am frustrated, disappointed etc.  Selfish, to be sure.  But when I begin to see her as a gift that God has given me, everything changes, especially if I choose to be thankful for that gift.  God knows me so well and loves me so much, that he has given me an awesome gift.  A wife to love, serve and be with.  That is a blessing.  That is a wonderful gift. 

                How do you view your spouse?  Someone with lots of faults?  Someone who holds you back? Or God’s incredible gift?  It makes all the difference in the world.  It can change your marriage.   It can change you. 

                Just a thought…

 

(check back for A Valentine’s Day Gift Part 2 on why your spouse is such a great gift!)