Friday, January 14, 2011

LOVE DARE #11

Day 11: Love Cherishes

WHAT NEED DOES YOUR SPOUSE HAVE THAT YOU COULD MEET TODAY? CAN YOU RUN AN ERRAND? GIVE A BACK RUB OR FOOT MASSAGE? IS THERE HOUSEWORK YOU COULD HELP WITH? CHOOSE A GESTURE THAT SAYS, "I CHERISH YOU" AND DO IT WITH A SMILE.

Yesterday we discussed loving "in sickness and in health." If you were sick - news of a terrible disease - would you immediately take action to get well? If our marriage was "sick," would we take action? If our car breaks down - we fix it. Our roof leaks, we repair it. However, some of us treat our marriage like an old shirt. Worn out, outgrown? Just get a new one.

A few flaws - a weakness here or there - becomes an opportunity to discard the old - go for something new. If we love - we cherish. We nourish - we help one another grow through it. We mend, we fix, we bring "marriage chicken soup" to comfort and heal. Because we're one - if our spouse is hurting, we're hurting. Care for your spouse with the same love and tenderness you would - for yourself.

VERSE FOR TODAY'S DARE: "Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies" (Ephesians 5:28). (And I might add - visa versa.)

THOUGHT FOR TODAY'S DARE: Add marriage glue - stick together. Add marriage fertilizer - grow together. Add marriage vitamins - get healthy - together.

Blessings for a day to "cherish" forever,
Dale and Susan Crook

(Want to take it a step further? Purchase the “Love Dare” book by Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick for additional information and to record your results.)