Loving Your Husband...Like Jesus Does (Thanks Eric!)

If we're being honest it can be hard to always love our husbands.  Even if the underlying love is always there it can be hard to show that love.  For instance, I might have a hard time showing Garrett I love him when:

1. He is sitting on the couch not paying attention to his surroundings and asks me to get him a beer since I am, after all, in the kitchen.  Apparently he thinks I'm just drinking a glass of wine and reading a magazine in the kitchen while in reality I am trying to cook dinner with a crying baby at my feet and telling my oldest to stop shooting Nerf darts at me while I'm cooking. 
2. I walk into the bedroom (just last night as a matter of fact) and he is literally laying down with his legs up in the air and farts so loud and long the second I walk into the room.  He tells me he just happened to be getting up at that moment.  I am thinking he timed it perfectly for me to walk in on that scene.
3. He listens to that annoying dance music station on satellite radio when he is in my car.  Apparently this makes him feel youthful.  All it does for me is make me want to repeatedly punch him in the face to that ridiculously annoying beat that keeps playing over and over and over and over and over and over.  (Just being honest here.)
4. I spend an hour and a half trying to make a new recipe and am so proud of myself when it turns out just right.  We sit down to eat and he gives me his honest opinion that he isn't a big fan.  I picture myself taking his plate and dumping his food out in his lap.
5. He waits until the MOST inopportune moments to ask me for you know what.  Like when I am running so late in the morning or we are literally getting ready to leave the house to go somewhere.  I swear he does this just to annoy me.

I know you are asking, how could it be hard to show love to this guy sometimes?

 

 

Yes, there are times when it can be hard to love my husband.  Here's the thing though.  We ALL have faults.  We ALL have downfalls.  We ALL have habits that annoy people.  We ALL have the capability of disappointing people.  We ALL have the ability to be better people.

I really love Eric Church's music.  I think this song talks about how we should love our husbands. 

Click here to watch the video of the acoustic version.

Loving someone like Jesus loves doesn't mean we accept or condone certain behavior.  Do you think that by Jesus unconditionally loving us He is condoning our sins?  Definitely not.  It just means that once we have made that commitment to someone (marriage) we love them for who they are and where they are in their lives.  We can encourage them to become better.  We can pray for them.  But we should love them like Jesus does. 

Isn't it funny how some of us women easily forgive everyone except our husbands?  It can be easy to forgive our best friend.  After all, we know they have a good heart and didn't mean to hurt our feelings.  We can forgive our mom or dad or sister.  We know they would never do anything to intentionally hurt us.  But we tend to have a hard time forgiving the one we have made a lifelong commitment to.  Why is that? 

I have to remind myself to love everyone, including Garrett, like Jesus loves us.  It can be hard but it's worth it.  And believe it or not, the simple act of loving someone (like He loves us) IS serving God.

And these are those moments where I look at my husband and think, How could I ever NOT love this man?

 

Daddy and Garrison 2006

Daddy and Ethan 2012

 

 Daddy and Our Boys 2012

Jewels*