.

Ephesians 5:21-33
                                          Husbands love your wives, Wives respect your husbands.
I have written much about the husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church.   The point this morning is this. The husband and the wife are given to each other as a gift.  Father does not put together a couple to cause constant conflict in their lives.  He puts them together to complement each other by what they bring to the relationship can and should actually complete them both.  There has to be forgiveness, and appreciation of each other abilities and strengths.  Where on of the individuals is week the other is strong.  For instance, my late wife Sharon had an eye for how some things would look.  She had an ability to put things together that to this day amazes me.  For years there was conflict because my gifting was not to do structural things like putting up wanes coating. Painting was not my strong point.  Putting up ceiling tile would not happen as my mind set was not one of detail.  I brought other things to the relationship however.  Let me make one point here.  Sharon was not a manly woman.  She was extremely feminine.  She just new what it took to make things look nice.  In the summer of 1972 I went to Montana to spend the summer helping my brother in law Ed put siding and roofing on houses.  That was a disaster.  Here I was a strapping 6ft athlete and could not drive a nail.  Just not my gifting.  I damaged as much siding by missing the nail as I put on the house.  Back to Sharon and I.  There were many conversations about how to accomplish something around the house.  It was not until after much prayer that we figured out that the conflict was because we were expecting each other operate in gifting we did not have.   Over my life I have operated in sales situations.  That has allowed me to be able to devote time to things she could not.  She would support me in what I did, and I would stand under the ladder giving her the assistance she needed in making sure the projects around the house were handled.  I would do the heavy lifting, but not touch a paint brush.   When we finally realized that we each operated in the gifting Father had given us we could then appreciate those gifting and show pride in the accomplishments of the other.    Here is the bottom line.  If your spouse is not gifted in an area and you are don’t expect your spouse to operate in that gift.  Rather look to what they are gifted in and express pride in them for operating in the gifting they do have.  As you do this then the mutual love and respect will grow.
Go in peace
Michael