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| photo by Amelia Grace Photography; used with permission |
In honor of Valentine's Day, I asked my husband, Stephen if he would be willing to do a few guest posts with me this week on the topic of Love, Romance, and Marriage. I know you'll really enjoy hearing from him! We kick this off with a three-parter called "Open Your 'I's'"
"Open your I’s"
Be open to the Interests
of your spouse
by Stephen Hendrix
January 20, 2011.
It was our 11th wedding anniversary. Earlier that
day Shelley was playing different love songs from her iPhone to commemorate the
special occasion. I appreciated the sentiment and enjoyed listening to her sing
along as if she was talking to me. We went to lunch, to a movie, hung out for a
little while, back to eat dinner and then went to get a puppy (that’s a previous
blog). While driving back with our new puppy in the car, I plugged in my iPhone
to play something from my playlist, a little country. I put on the Zac Brown
Band, Colder Weather (not exactly the best anniversary song). However Shelley
remained silent, played with the new puppy and just listened as I sang along
(off key of course). The next song that came on was Highway 20 Ride, a song
about a divorced father driving Highway 20 between Georgia and Alabama to pick
up his son for visitation and then drop him off again (I know, I know, another
great choice for an anniversary song). I realized this half way through the
song and turned on something like Air Supply.
My point is not my bad choice of
romantic music, even though that is glaringly obvious, my point is that Shelley
is not interested in Country music, but she is interested in me. I felt
validated, important, and understood. Shelley communicated to me that my
thoughts, feelings and opinions mattered to her and therefore I mattered to
her. Does your spouse know that they matter to you? Are his or her interests
important to you even though they may not interest you? Guys, watching a chick flick may not be your
idea of a night on the town, but it will speak volumes to her. Ladies, you may
not know a football from a Frisbee but sitting on the couch with him when his
team is down by a field goal in the 4th Quarter, understanding his
tears if they lose and the broken ceiling fan if they win. Patience and
understanding can go a long way towards intimacy and that’s the “I” you want to
open.
*What is your spouse interested in? How can you affirm your spouse by communicating to him/her that you are interested in them (even if you don't share the same fondness for the same things)? A little bit can go a really long way to convey honor to the one to whom you said, "I do."
| Stephen & Shelley |
Come on back for Tomorrow's Post:
Be Open to Instill Hope
By Shelley Hendrix
