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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

True Romance



I have never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day. I think it's a silly holiday invented for the purpose of increasing sales for retailers after the post-Christmas lull. I find a lot of that stuff really, really sappy.

But what I don't find sappy is true romance. The kind of romance that causes your husband to wipe your tears away in the middle of the night when you are so sleep deprived you can't see straight. The kind of romance that causes your husband to quote your marriage vows to you when he sees you at your worst and you are humiliated and don't even want him to look at you. The kind of romance that enables a husband to be a solid rock when you need him to be, even though on the inside his heart is breaking too after you lose a baby.

Most of you who read this blog are our friends and family and you can probably tell from the above paragraph that those are all experiences that have happened in our lives. And let me tell you, my husband knows about true romance. He knows about commitment and loyalty and dedication to his family and loving his wife. Really loving her.

And I am not the best wife. I am high-maintenance and emotionally needy. My favorite coping mechanism when I am hurt, confused or angry is to withdraw. I am impatient and I demand perfection way too often of those around me, without ever feeling the need to deliver that myself. I am terribly selfish. And, I hate to admit, I am not a very good housekeeper.

And yet, he stays. He supports me in all of my crazy ideas (and I have a lot of them). He has never once raised his voice at me. Not once and I swear I am not exaggerating. I never have to be afraid in his presence. He protects me and he loves me, even when I am unlovable.

Ladies, that is true romance. You can keep your flowers and your chocolates and your cheesy cards and gifts. I'll take my real man any day of the week.

So for this Valentine's Day, I am taking the 30 Day Challenge , from Nancy Leigh DeMoss, to encourage my husband. I found out about this through one of my favorite bloggers, Kathy over at Teaching Good Things.
Wives, won't you join me? If you are interested, check out Kathy's post about the challenge. You can also sign-up here to receive the daily e-mail updates about the challenge.
If you are interested in taking the challenge, leave a comment here. If you blog, feel free to link up to your blog. I plan on blogging about the challenge as much as I can. Ladies, let us understand the power of our words and give our husbands this awesome gift of encouragement for Valentine's Day. I would love to hear how it changes your marriage over the next 30 days.