Loving My Family

I guess growing up I thought that when I got married and had children, loving my husband and my kids would come completely naturally. Boy, was I wrong.

Sometimes it is really easy to love my husband~when he is kind, thoughtful, gentle, and hard-working. And sometimes it is easy to love our children~when they are cute, obedient, cheerful, giving, and helpful.

But, sometimes it is difficult to love those that are closest to us. We see all aspects of them and are present to witness their less desirable traits and days of poor choices and bad moods. These moments, though the hardest, are the exact time that our family needs our love the most.

By loving our families through these less lovable moments we can, in fact, show a small glimpse of the love that God shows towards us. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Also, in Ephesians it says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:1&2) The best way to show our family and the watchful world around us the love of God is to love them, especially when they are unlovable by our standards.

How do we do this, you might ask. Only by experiencing the true love of God are we able to show genuine love to others. In 2 Thessalonians 2:16&17 it says, "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." It is only through God's strength that we can accomplish the goal of loving our family well.

We must give up our selfish wants and desires and act in accordance with his will. As followers of Christ we know that the will of God is for us to love him first and then to love others. More specifically, we know as wives and moms that God's desire is that we love him, love our husbands, and love our children. These should always be our most important priorities.

In our small group meeting last night, our leader (a more mature man who has been married for 57 years) said that the best way he's found to measure how his relationship with God is growing is by examining how his love for his wife is growing. If he has become more compassionate and caring towards her, he has grown closer to the heart of God. However, if he has developed a habit of being irritable and unkind towards her, he has drifted from the will of his Father.

I know I have a lot of improvements to make in how I love my family.
~I need to be more attentive to Tim when he needs a listening ear, instead of thinking about all the other things I need to check off of my list.
~I need to be more patient with Emahry and even more consistent in training her so that we can enjoy a sweeter fellowship together.
~I also need to be less irritable towards Jonathan when his swollen gums cause him to wake in the early hours of the morning when I would rather be enjoying some peaceful sleep.

It's only by the grace and strength of God living in me that these things will be accomplished. I'm so thankful that I serve a God who can work through me to do things that would be impossible with my own weak strength.

Do you struggle with loving your husband or children when they are unlovable? How can you begin showing your family more love today? We'd love to read your thought or comments.

Visit Tammy's Recipes to see how other people are loving their families. This post contributed to I am Blissfully Domestic.

Photo credits: Microsoft Office Clipart