Hi Ladies! I am so truly sorry for the delay in our challenge. I was traveling for work early in the week, and did not have a moment to post. A busy trip - but a great one! We spent time in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Mississippi - and did a TON of driving. Seriously, it pained me to get back into the car this morning to come to work :)
Anyway, we will resume with Day 21 today. I LOVE today's. Forgiveness is such a wonderful gift - not only to give to someone else, but for yourself too.
Day 21 -
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you." Ephesians 4:32
It's time for some heart examination. As you continue in this 30 day challenge, have you found any roots of bitterness that are contaminating your relationship with your husband? Do you understand that as long as you are unwilling to forgive your husband (by God's grace and in His power) you will not be able to encourage him? Your own resentment will keep getting in the way. Now is the time to deal with any unforgiving attitudes. Forgive him, even as God has forgiven you.
Is your husband a forgiving man? Does he keep short accounts of your problems? Express your thankfulness for such a man.
Does your husband--rightly or wrongly--harbor grudges against you? Again, are there things you need to change, or do you need to ask for his forgiveness for an offense? Help your husband be more forgiving by quickly forgiving him for his mistakes.
This one really hits home for me. We learned in our marriage bible study that it is our duty to forgive each other, just a God forgives us for our sins. Wow. Comparing our marriage to a relationship with God left me speechless. I want to be more like my saviour! How do I do that? Forgive.
We have kind of an interesting situation in our marriage. I am VERY sensitive. I cry at commercials. Every.day. I get my feelings hurt if someone gives me a dirty look or speaks insensitively to me. I know, I know, that is so silly. And, I'm working on it. So, needless to say, hubby hurts my feelings on a fairly regular basis. His usual response? "I did nothing wrong! There is something wrong with you and you need to get over it." Well, I'm sure you can imagine how that goes. I didn't marry a man that is quick to say, "I'm so sorry I hurt your feelings - I didn't mean to, what can I do to make it better?".
Why do I think this is possible? My Daddy does it. It's a running joke in our home - my Daddy will get an eye roll or a look from my Mom, and his response? "I'm sorry, I must have done something to upset you. What would you like me to do differently?". My Mom said that this took years and years of "training" - ha ha! I'm not sure what training is, but I love how they treat each other and how they interact - and I want our marriage to be very similar to theirs. So, I try to model many of the things that they do. I am so grateful for their example to follow. So, for now, my part in this is to try not to get my feelings hurt.
My other part? Forgiveness. Giving it and asking for it. If I get snippy or get upset about something - I am pretty quick to say that I am sorry. I also ask him to please forgive me. Hubby is so quick to offer his forgiveness. I am so incredibly grateful for this. He says, sure, let's move on, it's okay. I love that trait in him and feel very blessed that he is willing to do that. I am learning that it is a good idea to say that I am sorry and ask for forgiveness even if I don't think I'm wrong. It always ends better that way. And, I don't want him to feel resentment towards me for anything at all, so I think that is very important. Now, if I could just teach him that....haha!
How do you forgive each other? What is your dynamic like?
I hope you have a wonderful day!
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