by Ronnie Tyler
Ants can carry 50 times their body weight. I was reminded of this on Friday night, during my church’s monthly Marriage Made Easy service. My pastor was explaining to the wives how important it is that they acknowledge their husbands…. tell them that they are doing a great job…..thank them for taking care of the family….provide them with that much needed affirmation. A man needs to be appreciated and there’s no greater feeling than when the praise comes from his wife.
During our marriage services, couples can go to the mics and ask questions and provide input. A man and his wife came to the mic on Friday. The husband was 6’5” and the wife was 5’2”, she was able to stand directly in front of him while he leaned over to speak into the mic. He stood up to share with us that what our pastor said was soo true. He said that there was no way that his wife could physically overcome him (due to his size as he was not only tall..but he was a very big guy…). However, when his wife acknowledged him and when she encouraged him…he said her words lifted him to new heights… far beyond her physical capabilities….. (like the little ant.) That testimony was so powerful….he really demonstrated that there is strength in our words and that as wives we have the power to uplift our men. (I also believe that through our words, we can tear our men down…but that’s another post.)
Our pastor said he could see the expressions on some of our faces that said: “shoot I am not acknowledging him for something he should be doing anyway!” However, we need to uplift our husbands even when they are not fulfilling everything that they should do…and you will see that you will get far more from them in return. If you don’t like the ant analogy, then how about this: you can catch more bees with honey . ( I guess this spring weather has be thinking about the birds and the bees 🙂 )
Our pastor gave us a homework assignment. He said when you get into the car, ask your husband if he feels appreciated enough…if you are acknowledging him enough? Lamar looked over at me and smiled as if he could not wait to get into the car. But I already knew the answer… I knew I needed to do more. In the car, Lamar told me that he could definitely see that I was making an effort to appreciate him and he told me how much that it meant to him. He could see a big difference from when we first got married (when I probably had the attitude where I am not acknowledging you for something that you should be doing anyway….shooooot I work too) to now (when I understand that my husband likes to be acknowledged and that it makes him want to work harder for our marriage and for our family.)
BMWK Family – I’d like to hear from you. Wives do you acknowledge your husbands enough?