Love & Prayers

On an average weekday, my husband will call around mid-day.  We each talk about how our day has been so far, plans for that evening, what’s for supper, and usually he’ll chat for a moment with Jadon.  It’s something I so look forward to and miss on those days when it just can’t happen due to either of our schedules. 

On one particular day this past fall, despite one of his busiest days out of the year, Andy called.  There were so many things going on at the church right now, and yet my loving husband took the time to call (ever so briefly) to ask how my day was.  Jadon was already in bed for his nap and it had been a long morning – after having had a long night prior due to a nagging cough and congestion that Jadon was struggling to get over after a recent cold.  I was so looking forward to this conversation, as brief as I knew it would be, and yet after saying good-bye I did not feel the sense of love, contentment, and relief that I usually feel.  I felt guilty.  As I quickly reflected on the conversation we just had I realized that this guilt was not at all misplaced.  I suddenly felt awful that on such a stressful day for my husband, I had completely dominated our conversation with woes and complaints about all that I had been dealing with that morning… and, to make matters worse, other things that did not even matter to the day.  I just got caught up in complaint. 

Does this happen to you?  I often find myself sliding into that muck and mud.  It’s like quicksand.  It doesn’t take much to just suck you in and then find it difficult to pull yourself out.  The reality is (and thankfully God brought this to my attention quite quickly) that I can’t pull myself out.  I need to stop fighting against all that is over-whelming me and reach up to the ever-present hand of God.  He’s right there!  Just pray! 

God is the great forgiver.  It’s difficult to enter into the presence of the great forgiver and still feel weighed down with our sin and guilt.  It’s possible, but difficult.  Despite having a cranky, coughing toddler running around that morning, I had still found time to read my Bible, but I had not yet prayed to my Heavenly Father (and that God-please-protect-this-child-from-his-grouchy-mother prayer does not count).  And I must say, this sinner was in great need of some forgiveness.  Despite those difficult days that all stay-at-home moms have when you just want to pull out your hair (that is, the rest of your hair that your toddler has not already yanked out), it is a privilege to be able to be the one to care for my son each day – at his best and worst.  God’s given me an awesome responsibility that I often take for granted.  Staying at home is not always easy – financially or emotionally – but it is what God has given me to do for this time and I am honored to have such a high calling. 

God also challenged me, during this time of prayer, to pray for my husband.  I can’t do this often enough.  In her book Becoming the Woman of His Dreams, Sharon Jaynes says the following:

“Of all the roles and responsibilities God has given us as wives, the position of a prayer warrior or intercessor is perhaps the greatest of all… What we accomplish on our knees in the invisible realm will ultimately affect the strength of our marriage in the visible realm.  There is no other person who is more called or more qualified to pray for your man than you.”

Although cooking his favorite meal and laundering his –ahem… unmentionables may come in at a close second and third, the number one thing that a wife can do for her husband is pray for him.  Period.  As difficult as some of these busy days are for us, the best thing that I can do for my husband – as his helper – is pray for him.    

Do you thank God often for where he has you right now?  Do you pray for your children?  For your spouse?  For others who you love?  I hope God’s lesson to me is an encouragement to you today.

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:11-12

~ Carrie ~