Sharing Your Husband?

My husband is a pastor.   I share him with the members of our church.

My husband is a son.  I share him with his mom.

My husband is a brother.  I share him with his brother.

My husband is an uncle.  I share him with our nieces and nephews.

My husband is a dad.  I share him with our daughter.

There are countless others – friends, co-workers, ministry partners, etc. – who also need pieces of my husband’s time, energy, and abilities.  My life isn’t all that different from yours, I imagine.

The demands on our husbands’ time are real … and sometimes, we end up with the leftovers.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to give us the best of his attention.   But there are situations, circumstances, even seasons, when he simply can’t.  And, if we are really honest, there are situations, circumstances, even seasons, when we don’t have the best to give him either.

That’s the deal with marriage … it’s real and hard and there are just days when we don’t give our best.   In fact, there are days when we dish out the worst.

It’s in those times – when babies don’t sleep and projects at work demand endless hours – it’s those times when we find out what binds us to one another.  It’s those times when moods are bad and bones are weary … that’s when we make the choice.   The difficult choice of grace.

We extend grace … because we need grace, because we’ve received grace.

Grace is the whisper of hope in the midst of the chaos.

Grace is the promise of new mercies after the dark night.

Grace is the breath of expectancy when the days loom large ahead.

So when the days come and he’s needed by his family or a work commitment seems neverending, you share.  You share this man to whom you’ve given your heart.   You share in the journey laid out before him because you’re bound together – heart and soul.  You share grace.

Because without that … there is nothing.

How do you respond to the seasons when your husband’s time for you is limited?

Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

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This wraps up the five S’s of marriage. Tomorrow some of my favorite books on the topic of marriage. Just to make sure you don’t miss a post in this series, please take a moment to subscribe for daily updates in your email. All the previous posts in Starting Well in 2012 are indexed here.

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