What Do You See?

I want you to think back to when you first met the woman who would become your wife. What did you notice? A beautiful smile? An alluring figure? Eyes filled with kindness? An irresistible laugh? Perhaps more than one of the above.

Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

-Proverbs 5:18

Beauty is Not in the Eye

One of the challenges of being a man is seeing beyond the looks of another person. We are by default drawn to physical beauty. It is in fact highly likely that one of the primary reasons you asked your wife-to-be on your first date…because she caught your eye. There are many beautiful women in the world and you are married to one. It doesn’t matter whether she is 19 or 99, she is a beautiful person. It’s not what you see with your eye that matters, it’s what you know in your heart to be true.

Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
-Proverbs 31:30

A Reputation…and a T-Shirt

I have a reputation with Sally’s family in Michigan. You see I frequently refer to my lovely bride as “hot”. A few years ago we were gathered together at their cottage near Kalkaska, MI (if you are ever looking for the cottage I believe it is right next to Heaven) exchanging early Christmas gifts over Thanksgiving weekend. When I opened my present I laughed out loud! It was a t-shirt that said,”I Love My Hot Wife”. But that wasn’t the end. When Sally opened her gift it was also a t-shirt, that said “I’m Troy’s Hot Wife.” Too funny!

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Where True Beauty Lives

My wife IS a beautiful woman. She works hard every day with her eating habits and regular exercise to maintain the amazing body that the Lord has given her for this life. But true beauty isn’t in a lovely face or a stellar figure. True beauty lives in the spirit of a person. As most of you know I am a firm believer in good health and maintaining the physical strength that the Lord has given you for as long as possible. But a person is so much more than the body they inhabit. Every person is a child of the Most High King.

The Love of Your Life

Your wife is not her body, but her body is important to you and to her. You need to love her as a whole person, body, soul and spirit. Tell her how beautiful she is, compliment her on her love for others, encourage her as she volunteers her time for service. Never let a change in a person’s physical health or appearance keep you from finding the beauty inside. We are all spiritual beings living in physical shells. It is critically important to care for the whole person. Don’t only pay attention to the body, but love the spirit inside.

Help Her Grow in Beauty

As you and your bride watch the days and months of your marriage turn into years and decades things will change in both of your bodies. You can do many things to improve the process…in fact in our 40s Sally and I are both in MUCH better health and shape than we were in our 20s. But one of the interesting things about aging is this: to the world people lose their beauty as they grow older…but if we spend more time in the Presence of the Lord then as we age we become more and more beautiful in spirit. I challenge you as the spiritual leader in your home to do everything you can to help her grow in beauty, while you do the same.

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life
.
-Proverbs 31:10-12

Love you all!

-Troy