Learning to Love

When we imitate God, we learn more about Him. But also, we show what He is like, to other people. Some of those people are the ones we live with, which is important, because we learn to walk in love at home…or we don’t.

So THIS verse has been running around in my head since I read over it for this post:

Then he said to the woman,

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
but he will rule over you.”
Genesis 3:16

Being a Prodigal Daughter to my Heavenly Father comes with a strong desire to run my own life. Sadly for my husband, this desire clashes with his leadership in our marriage and family. We have the typical power struggles that all married couples share. And he disagrees too often and too loudly for my taste. I have tried to explain to him about “tone” but this still seems to be a foreign concept. Sometimes I feel micromanaged. Or he’s grumpy and I respond in kind…and it isn’t kind. I am keenly aware that this is a problem for a few reasons:

• I need to be comfortable in my own skin…so I have to communicate truth when I feel upset, but I need to honor the Lord in the way I speak so I can feel good about it. I know Him well enough that I realize He won’t accept my lame excuses for overreacting, speaking rudely, or holding grudges.
• I want my relationship to get better over time, not worse…I believe the Bible when it says, “Make no mistake: God can’t be mocked. What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest” (Gal 6:7, VOICE).  Sowing anger and rudeness means I should expect the same in return. It’s better when I remember that I am feathering my nest with my own words.
• My children are watching...I can’t ask them to be polite if I am not. I can’t expect them to know what love looks like (Love is patient and kind…), if they don’t see it. In Deuteronomy 6, God commands us to love Him well enough to obey Him and live out an obedient life in the presence of our children.  This is the FIRST Great Commission, the oldest method for sharing our faith.
• I want to live as the best version of me and have a #moreabundantlife…regrets stink.  One of my issues is I really like to be right….it is always nice when he knows I am right and admits it, too. 😉 But really, the only way to be right, is to do right. “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (Galatians 5:14).

So, what if the other person really is wrong, and you are right?

Right, wrong…these don’t matter most of the time. No amount of being right will convince someone else who believes that he is right. So, what is to be gained by arguing? Nothing. God just wants us to walk in Integrity, no matter what.

So, this is the lesson I am failing at lately. Hold my tongue? Not so much. Let the irritation go? Um, nope. Listen calmly to unwanted advice? Hardly.

I am thankful for my children. The little eyes, the little ears. When I see myself through their eyes and hear myself through their ears, I know I can do better. The Lord gives me grace…but it is not mine to keep. I have to share it. Lord, help me to give grace as generously as You do.

You can find all the posts for this series here!