Praying The Fruit of the Spirit in Our Marriage

     I have decided to begin a new marriage series on practicing, and praying, The Fruit of the Spirit in our marriage. I have always loved these verses from Galatians, and I thought that the concept of applying these "fruits" to our marriage would be beneficial. So let's begin with the first one...love. How well are you loving your husband? Remeber back in the dating and newlywed days when we were so purposeful and eager to demonstrate love to our men? Well, that eagerness should still be the same whether you have been married for 10 days, or 10 years. As I said in my marriage post last week, I have come to the conclusion that for me, my greatest desire in my marriage is to love Jeff as deeply and unconditionally as Christ loves me. It's a love that is unfading and unending, and most definiely should not be based on our feelings. Us women can be very emotional, and if your like me, those emotions can differ from day to day. I cannot possibly love Jeff the way I am called to if I rely solely on the way I feel. Some days I may be cranky, some days I may feel down, and other days I may be the happiest woman in the world. (Gotta love those hormones, girls ;)  The only way I will truly be able to love Jeff with an agape kind of love, is to keep my eyes on Jesus and rely on His strength and wisdom daily. Notice I said daily. If we are not surrending our marriage to Jesus daily and denying ourselves, then we cannot even begin to focus on our spouse and meeting their needs first.  So, with all that being said, I want to challenge you to come up with some creative ways to show your husband love. Maybe it's cooking his favorite meal, writing him a love note, surprising him with a special date night, or simply getting on your knees and praying with him according to his needs. Let's be the wives we are called to be and love our men well!

Lord, I come to you now and ask that you would give me the wisdom to know how to love Jeff well. He is one of the greatest gifts you have ever given me, and I am so grateful. Please love Jeff through me, and may he see You, sweet Jesus, in me. I surrender our marriage to you and boldly ask that you would use us to your glory. Thank you for your deep and unfailing love. You are so good.