Free
and unmerited favor- GRACE. Something given for free that you
haven't worked for. I have a hard time with the idea of grace. I'm
always trying to wrap my brain around what it actually means. So
often people say that God gives us grace, but what is grace and do I
care that I have it, or that I don't have it? That is difficult for
me at times. So I look up the definition frequently (okay, so I have
twice in the past two year, but that's frequent to look up a word
that really does have a simple definition isn't is)?
I
don't accept things well that I haven't worked to earn. I'm hard
worker. My parents raised me to be a hard worker and that's what I
take pride in. I have a “strong work ethic” as my father would
say. When you work hard you get paid. You put in, you get out.
That's the way my brain works. So this idea of getting something for
nothing is really foreign to me. Why would I get more pay than the
hours I've worked and why would I get me love and forgiveness than I
deserve. I'm working on this concept of grace in my life.
The
other day I was listening to a Podcast about marriage and they were
talking about extending grace to your spouse. Extend grace to your
spouse?? I thought, why? I have expectations of my spouse, hes knows
that I have these expectations, and he has his so why change
anything. Why let them off the hook? I have a 50/50 mentality in my
marriage and in life in general. I give you take; you take I give.
That's the way it works. I'm expected to stay thin, take care of the
house, have patience with the kids and my husband is expected to talk
to me when I feel upset, fix things when they break and, drive on
long trips. If he goes out with his friends, then I get a girls
night out too. If I'm working really hard on a Saturday then he
should work hard also. If I give the kids a bath he should wash the
dishes. When he watches his shows on TV the next night I watch my
shows. It's 50/50 give and take. So this idea of expending grace to
my husband just felt really foreign to me. I don't want to extend
grace to my husband. I want him to be who I think he should be and
we'll all be happy. What does showing grace to your husband even
really mean I thought as I listened. No one has the capability of
really doing that, that's God's job not mine.
My
husband is suppose to be my all. My husband is the end of the line.
When people fail me, my friends or my family or the checker at the
grocery store, my husband is suppose to be there for me. He's
suppose to understand me inside and out at least 90% of the time. He
should be able to take a look at me and know if I'm feeling sad,
depressed, angry, unappreciated, anxious, jealous. He should know.
That's his job, he's my husband. And when he doesn't understand me
to my core I think, I've got the wrong husband. I must have made a
mistake. Why isn't he “getting me?” He's suppose to be my soul
mate. Right? Wrong.
As
all of these thoughts culminated in my mind there was a brief thought
of, he should change, not me. As that thought past and I drew back to
knowledge that was a bit buried
. He isn't my everything. He's my
lover, my friend, my life adventure partner, but he's just a person,
just a man. He can't be my everything. No one can. Only God has
the ability to fill that role for me. God is my everything. And God
extended me grace. He extends me so much grace. Why then shouldn't
I extend grace to the wonderful caring, loving creature I call my
husband? Is he right all of the time, of course not and neither am
I. I'm wrong, and insensitive. Not understand and demanding. I'm
judgmental and critical. Angry and anxious and I'm human. He
deserves my grace. He tries, I know he does. And sometimes, some
days he just doesn't make the mark and that's okay, because so many
times he does. And I know he's trying. He's trying really hard to
be the husband that I want him to be. To be the father that he'd
like to have and to explore this life with his eyes wide open to the
possibilities it can offer.
So
when he comes home later than I expect, or early than I'd like (this
is my time at home and I'm not ready for you), when he doesn't say
the right things, or lets the kids watch three hours of TV while I'm
away (three hours, do you know how bad that is for them?!?!), or when
he says the wrong things just before we have sex which seems to
happen more often than I'd like, or even when his eyes follow a
nearly naked girl walking down the street I try to extend grace. I
know I'm not perfect, but I am aware. I know that more than anything
he needs my love and support. He needs me to say he's doing alright
and that he's the best husband in the world. And he is. He's the
best husband in the world.
When
I finished listening to the podcast I thought (no joke) that it would
be so great if I had something that reminded me to offer my husband
grace. I had this thought that wouldn't it be great if I had a piece
of jewelry, like maybe a ring that said grace and every time I looked
at it I'd remember to extend grace to my husband. Then it hit me,
hello! I have a wedding ring and I never take it off. Every time I
look at it shouldn't it remind me that I've got a wonderful husband,
an awesome man that I love that I should be gracious with. So now
when I look at my wedding ring I think of my husband, how's he's
trying and I need to be supportive. I need to care more than he
cares to allow for imperfections in who he is, to give him the grace
that I've been given.