What I Have Found in a Husband

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, my memories take me back to a very special day. A day that I am forever thankful for. A day that God chose to use to change the path in my life.

I was 18 years old, and a young man had called to ask if I would accompany him to a Valentine’s Day banquet at his church. I said yes, but I had no idea where that one yes would lead.

After I agreed to attend the banquet with him, he called me the next day so that we could get more acquainted. We stayed on the phone for hours. We talked every day until our first date and we could already tell that we were growing fond of each other. Our first date was just the beginning of it all. Our romance was a whirlwind, and we were married 5 months later. It was easy to fall in love with this wonderful, Christian man that God had placed in my life.

We enjoyed each others company, we talked every day, and we also saw each other as much as possible. He would drive 25 minutes to my house, where I still lived with my parents, and would stay until late into the night. He would then drive back to his home, and we would do it all again the next day. We were on Cloud 9 and in love. We wouldn’t trade those days for anything.

Yes, it was wonderful, and it still is. We had a whirlwind romance, and I’m still living it.

But let me give you a little back story. I had had a different plan. I never wanted to be 18 (almost 19) and married. I had plans to live my life and do what I pleased, and if marriage came along later, then I would possibly consider it. At that time in my life, I wasn’t sure if marriage was for me. I felt too independent for that. That is what I had planned, but it was not what God had planned.

A few months before I met Blake, the Lord told me to go on a fast. He never told me what it was for, but I knew that I didn’t need a reason. If the Lord was telling me to fast, then I would do it. I fasted and prayed for the length of time that I felt God was calling me to do so. I didn’t question Him. I just trusted.

Several, several years after Blake and I had been married, the Lord quickened me one day. He reminded me of the time when I was 18, young and ready to conquer the world, and He told me to stop what I was doing to have a time of fasting and prayer. He then let me know that it was for the husband that He was preparing for me.

Ladies, I have to tell you that I have a good one! He is the kind that loves to surprise me. He has a giving heart and would do anything in this world for me. He is soft spoken, yet has a steady and Godly boldness. He treats me like a lady should be treated. He loves God with his whole heart, and lives his life according to how God wants him to live each day. He is the most amazing daddy to our son, and to the foster children we have welcomed into our home.

I would not have all of this if I had not listened to the sweet voice of the Lord, asking me to give of myself, so that He could prepare something special. Just for me.

Even though I did not feel that I wanted to be married for a long while, I still knew that I should pray for what I wanted in a husband, if that time ever came about. So I told the Lord just what I wanted. How I wanted to be treated. How I wanted to be loved. He gave me that in my husband, and so much more.

Soon after we were married, we began helping with the youth group at church. And just a few years after that, we became the youth directors for our church. We held that position for 10 years until we felt the Lord telling us it was time to step down. You see, just 2 years before I met my husband for the first time, God had spoken to me and told me that my calling was working in the youth ministry. The same calling that God had on my husband’s life. God knew what He was doing, even when I didn’t have a clue.

I am so thankful that I listened to the voice of the Lord, and took that special time to fast and pray. I believe it prepared me for what was to come and to position my husband and myself to be at the right place, at the right time. When things fall into place in God’s timing, there is no denying it.

We have been through many lows and many highs in our relationship, as all relationships do. As you live, you cannot help but be in the valley one minute and climb to the mountain top the next minute. It’s part of life. But we have stayed strong in the Lord through it all. We have clung to each other during the good times and during the bad times.

Early in our marriage we understood what it meant to love in sickness and in health. It meant my husband washing my hair because I was so sick and weak that I couldn’t do it myself. We understood what it meant to love for rich or for poor. When doctor bills began rolling in and we lived on one income due to my illness. We clung to each other during some of the hardest times of our lives, trying to find the will of God in it all, weathering through the spiritual storm.

I want to encourage any young lady that may be praying for the right Godly man to come along. Listen and follow the leading of the Lord. You may have one direction in mind, but be open to another direction that God has planned. When it is all said and done, you will want someone by your side that knows how to touch the throne of God! You will want someone who will hold you up in prayer. You will want to love someone that you desire to do good things for. You will want the kind of man that makes you desire to be the kind of wife he deserves.

I read an article by Nottages Next Door called “BEST Tips to Love Your Spouse”. This advice was given to them by their pastor while they were in pre-marital counseling (which I recommend if you are engaged and planning to be married!).

In this article, they provide 4 principles to loving your spouse:

Bless your spouse

Edify your spouse

Share with your spouse

Touch your spouse

I hope that you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day and spend it with someone that you love!

If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to sign up for the “Prayers for Your Husband” Challenge. This is a 14 Day Challenge of reading scriptures that align with the role of the husband, praying specific prayers for the needs in your husband’s life, and tasks to do each day to encourage your husband.

Much Love,