Day Three

"...love suffers long, and is kind..." 1 Cor. 13:4
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus." Phil. 4:19 

Love indeed suffers long and is kind. As you consider your Encouragement Challenge, determine today that you will not say anything negative to or about your husband. Speak kindly to him with words of genuine encouragement.

If your husband is considerate of your needs, let him know that you have noticed. Thank him for his kindness and consideration. Thank the Lord that your husband knows how to be both tough and tender.

Sometimes it's difficult for a man to be gentle, kind or tender - especially if he hasn't had role models in these areas. If he's not a considerate person, appeal to him for help without complaining. Let him know that it's hard for you to handle some things alone. Then, when he moves in to help, don't insist that he do it your way. Be glad that he is responding, and express your gratitude. 

Ultimately, you can't expect your husband to make you feel more secure, loved, etc. Remember that only God can meet the deepest needs of your heart.

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You know, one thing I love about my husband is his gentle nature and loving ways. As much as he can get on my nerves, which if I’m being honest, happens, I just love that he can be such a wonderful comfort to me!

Love does suffer long, which is evident in this 12 month deployment. But for us, it has only made us stronger, and more in love. It has showed me that my husband not only loves me more than anything, but that he actually cares about me, and misses me.

He was home recently on R&R, and he told me that on his plane ride back to Afghanistan he was so sad, and just wanted to cry because he was going to miss me so much. He might kill me for sharing that, but the honesty he shared with me, and the fact that I wasn’t the only one who was sad about his leaving made his leaving that much easier to handle.

So, thank you LT, for all your love and support.