So more along the lines of what I posted previously about the process I feel like I'm undergoing in changing the way I see some things and deciding what I want my viewpoint as a Christian, wife and mother to be.
I'm now reading a book called Feminine Appeal written by Carolyn Mahaney whose blog I linked on my previous post. Her husband is the pastor of the Covenant Life Church in DC where Ryan and I were so struck by the positive family vibes that the whole church gave off and modeled. My friend Donna, who is a relatively new friend but a wife and mother who I have a great deal of respect for, brought this book over after I mentioned my current journey of thought. I am SO excited to read this book. I feel like its so affirming of the direction I want to go in but I also like it because I can just imagine what the National Organization of Women would do with this book. Burning it would probably be too tame for them. And that alone is a big stamp of approval on this book :)
Anyway, the 2nd chapter is entitled The Delight of Loving My Husband and there are too many good things in this chapter to touch on (but I highly recommend reading it for yourself) but one thing has really stuck with me. Its a quote from Elisabeth Elliot (an amazing woman) that goes like this: "A wife, if she is very generous, may allow that her husband lives up to perhaps 80% of her expectations. There is always the other 20% that she would like to change, and she may chip away at it for the whole of their married life without reducing it by very much. She may, on the other hand, simply decide to enjoy the 80%, and both of them will be happy."
For me this quote was just a big WOW moment! I don't even know if there is 20% that I would change about Ryan but that isn't even the point. So lately I've been focusing on the 80 (plus) percent and its made me fall in love all over again. My husband is a truly wonderful man. The other morning he stopped me in the midst of running around doing some house cleaning to ask me if I'd had a chance to eat breakfast. Such a small thing but it meant more to me than I think he could possibly realize. I love my life. I love being married to this guy. I love the family we are creating. And it doesn't get much better than that.
4 comments:
Yeah!
that is just beautiful! How lucky and blessed a woman is to be able to see her husband that way. I agree, I don't know if there IS 20% I would change about Dave - but regardless, that is a big wake-up HELLO. thanks for posting it!
When my husband came into my life I gained a best friend, confidante, support system and so much more. One of the best parts of marriage is falling in love with the same man over and over again!
I love where you're going with this blog. I really, really like Ryan too...he is an amazing man and you're an amazing woman. How blessed you are to have each other and the babies to boot!
I sometimes think it's odd how crazy I am about my husband and how unbelievably loved I feel by him and how much my heart overflows with love for him...even when we disappoint each other. It's always encouraging to read that woman I look up to (you know, Elisabeth Elliot, you... =0) feel the same way about their men. It is so reaffirming in our marriage as a whole when I look at all the beauty and goodness in this man of mine.
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