July 27th, 2010

This is the question I ask myself more and more. Some days my husband and I get along great, others he is telling me he hates me or I am telling him I hate him. I try to read every article and book on marriage that I find appeals to me and my marriage as much as I can. Contained in this post is what I have learned.

When my husband comes home from work, I don’t run to the door to greet him, I know I should. I know I would get excited to see my husband run to greet me when I got home, if I worked, just like our children do to him. If you run to greet your husband after he gets home from work, you are telling him that he is important to you!

I think, “My husband could have gone a hundred different places tonight. There are tons of women out there who would like to have him. But, he has chosen to come home to me. He’s coming through that door to me.”

Is it going to hurt me any to tell him I’m happy he’s home, I’m thankful he’s worked hard all day and provided for this home, for me, for my children?

My husband and I fall into the trap of calling, texting, or sharing as soon as he gets home from work the bad parts of our day. This is another thing that needs to be changed. When I have been at home with the kids all day by myself, I am so happy to see another adult who can take care of these children for me but I need to learn to let him have 15 minutes to unwind, and we should not share the negative parts of our day as soon as we see each other – that can wait until after dinner.

Some of my favorite quotes over the years about marriage:

• All marriages aren’t happy; living together is tough.
• A good marriage is not a gift; it’s an achievement by God’s grace.
• Marriage is not for children; it takes guts and maturity.
• Marriage separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls.
• Marriage is tested daily by the ability to compromise.
• Marriage is giving and, more importantly, forgiving.
• With all its ups and downs, marriage is still God’s object lesson of Jesus and the church.
• Through submission to one another we can witness to the world that marriage works and is still alive.
• Marriage is worth dying for. If we give it proper honor, we will be honored by our children, our families, our neighbors, our friends, and best of all, our Lord.

Tell me, are you a good wife?

Are you doing everything you can be doing to make your husband like to come home to you… to be happy he married you?