One of the sermons I have listened to recently talks about how a wife can be En Gedi for her husband. I've heard this principle mentioned before in marriage books and have tried throughout our married life to make our home a place of peace and refreshment for my husband.
While I know my husband loves me no matter what and understands that life with 3 little ones can be chaotic, I still want to make an effort during this season of life to be and to maintain a place of refreshment for him. It's all too easy to just let life happen and let the kids' needs take precedence and if you don't proactively seek to build your marriage, you will find that it will naturally deteriorate. I don't want our lives to revolve around our kids and don't want our relationship to wither.
Making our home an En Gedi is easier said than done since our clean laundry seems to often flood the couch, toys often litter the floor, and our bedroom is cluttered due to lack of space and having to share it with Justus at night and Jeremiah during nap time. Of course I would love to have an enormous master bedroom with a patio overlooking the mountains, a hot tub or jacuzzi, and a cozy fireplace in front of a plush leather couch where we could retreat from the diapers and racecars and busy-ness of life. But since that isn't a reality right now, I have to figure out how to carve an En Gedi out of the things I do have.
Where it all starts:
I think making our homes and our bodies an En Gedi for our husbands starts with the attitude. What good is a spotless home if the wife in it is nagging/quarrelsome/easily angered? Maintaining an attitude of joy and greeting your hubby with a smile will bring him refreshment, even if the house looks like a tornado of junk hit!
Having an attitude of contentment and joy is only possible if one is cultivating a growing relationship with the Lord. "But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. " 1 Peter 3:4 Our outer beauty may pass away but inner beauty is unfading.
Daily giving ourselves to the Lord, seeking Him, reading His Word, and asking for His help, we can grow in the qualities that can make our homes an En Gedi.
Love
Joy
Peace
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-Control
Thankfulness
Contentment
Respect
Stay Tuned for Coming Posts on Being His En Gedi.......
3 comments:
Lindsey, I really appreciate your posts like this. You have often inspired me to think more about this and to put it into practice. Thanks for the promise of more posts!
I needed this reminder today, thank you!!! I'm going to go work on my house now before my husband gets home.
What a beautiful post. Thanks so much for the encouragement. If you can do it with 3 children I certainly can with one. Recently I have been so stressed and I need to remember to seek my peace in God and let him fill me with his living water so that then I have to give to my husband. I truely want to be the En Gedi of my husband.
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