Show Me the Love

This weekend we celebrate the holiday of love, Valentine’s Day. This day holds special significance for me because my husband proposed to me on Valentine’s Day 13 years ago. Because my husband’s birthday is just a few days before Valentine’s Day, I always have a hard time trying to decide what to do for him.

This year I have come up with three ways that I want to honor him and give him the respect he is due.

1. Listen-Sometimes I am so caught up in my own busy little life that I don’t take the time to really listen to what is going on my husband’s life. This is a busy time of year for him at work, so I know he is under a lot of pressure. Now, I know that a lot of men don’t like to talk a lot, but my husband will share what’s going on in his life if I give him the chance. So, I will begin to listen intentionally more often so that I can be a support to him.

2. Learn-Even though we’ve been married almost 13 years, there are still many things about my husband that I don’t know. Because I don’t listen well all the time I miss out on learning more about him and his heart. So, in conjunction with listening more, I want to learn more about him. Because the more I learn about him, the more there is to love. Which brings me to…

3. Love-One of my favorite books of all time is Dr. Gary Chapman’s book The Five Love Languages. Reading this book has opened my eyes to see how my husband receives love best. His primary love language is acts of service. In other words, he feels loved if the house is clean and in order, the laundry’s done, or one of his primary chores is taken care of for him. Again, my busy life sometimes keeps me from remembering this and therefore causes some friction when I don’t do some of these things consistently. To show my love for him, I will remember what his love language is and try to do my best to show him love in that way as much as I can.

How about you? What do you do to show honor and love to your spouse? Comment and share your story.