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Day 10: 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge

By Melissa Markham on April 28, 2008 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"Behold you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant!..." Song of Solomon 1:16a

Remember what it was that first drew you to your husband?

When I met Daniel, I thought he was extremely attractive. Shoulder length black wavy hair, beautiful blue eyes, a charming smile. And we hit it off right away. We had a lovely conversation and we shared interest in things like Star Trek. The first few weeks we dated, he would call me, long distance and talk for an hour (this was back in the day when long distance was 25 cents a minute! He asked to read (and actually read) poetry I had written. He was full of fun and loved to do interesting things. He was spontaneous, kind and friendly.

Now, 18 years later, the hair is no longer black or long. But the eyes are still blue. We still have common interests combined with 18 years of memories. Of obstacles overcome, problems resolved, joys shared, dreams attained, love, laughter, and tears. We have two beautiful children as a result of our joining.

Daniel can still make me smile. He still encourages me to dream and to do something exciting with my life. He continues to take our family to interesting places. We have visted Paris, Canada, California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. This summer we will travel to Illinois and plan to visit Missouri, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana.

I do often lose sight of telling him how proud I am of him. Of how I still find him attractive. This is easy to forget to share when I am spend a bunch of time fussing about what he doesn't do and how he doesn't meet my ideas of a perfect husband. Funny how I know we aren't perfect. As humans we aren't anywhere close to it, yet in my heart I hold the idea of a perfect husband.

I need to let that idea go. The only place I can find perfection is in God. I need to love my husband for the wonderful person he is. Faults and all. After all, he loves me even with my many faults. I need to let him know on a daily basis what I appreciate about him, what I admire in him, what I love about him. Do you need to do the same?

Have you forgotten what it is that drew you to the man in your life? Have you set it aside in the daily chores of the day? Make a pledge today to bring love and romance back into your life. To let your hubby know how awesome you think he is each and every day.

I love you, Daniel! You are smart, kind, generous. You have a huge dream for your life and you work hard to reach it. Your children love you. We miss you when you are gone and are happy when you return. And here I have written it for the whole Internet to see!