One of the sweetest things of being a preacher’s wife are the moments when the hubby pauses a while to sit by my side just to tell me things, appreciate me, for one, in the middle of finalizing his message for the next day’s sermon. The most recent of which happened last Saturday night. Sure he does that every so often. What makes it special is the all of a sudden undivided attention I get despite my in-the-computer-all- day-look.
Any wife could make use of that once in a while. I really am thankful for everything my husband is to me. He sure is not perfect, but there is definitely no way in the world I will exchange my being his wife to be the queen of the richest of earthly kingdoms.
You might ask what his sermon was about that got him to suddenly sit down beside me and look me in the eyes with that youthful look of courtship, with the sincerity of a child’s innocent gaze. His topic for last week was Building Better Relationships. The word that he he focused in his message is the word “Appreciation” and why it is important that we express our appreciation to the people around us.
We will find this very common in young children. I hear my son time and again thank me for the littlest of things. Just a couple of days ago, when I was busy in the kitchen, hardly having the luxury to look his way, he all of a sudden quipped, “Mama, I’m happy when you’re here with me.” The sincerity was without question. I did not have a choice but melt and let go of whatever it was that I was doing and rush to him to reciprocate.
In marriage there will surely come a time along the way that we take our respective spouses for granted. While wives turn to nagging, husbands forget altogether how they used to gift their wives with akoya pearls , with all its shine, quality and beauty. If you can very well afford to give hanadama pearls, then you should. Or whatever it is that your wife might fancy. Your gift does not even have to be as glamorous as salt water pearls. You might be surprised what a bunch of freshly flowers picked will do. 🙂
Appreciation should always come with hard evidence of sorts. Lip service does not do it. So even as Jeff were with his words, voicing out his appreciation. He followed it up by doing one of the least favorite things that I do at home – wash the dishes, among other things that he does for me in an everyday basis. I can only wish I can love him more unconditionally.
As for his message topic, there are three things that we have to take note of in demonstrating our appreciation to people. First, it needs to be real. If you just make words up for flattery, it will not serve its purpose. It has to be genuine, sincere, heartfelt, void of ulterior motives. Never manipulative. Second, it has to be recognizable. Be clear in what you appreciate about the person. When Jeff told me how much he appreciated me, he went into details. Never say that “I don’t need to tell my wife that I love her. She knows it.” Third, appreciation needs to be done on a regular basis. It makes all the difference in this world that’s full of hate. Starting at home is the best way to do it.
