Marital Moments Issue 5 - Encourage Your Spouse

When I was in 5th grade, I won a writing contest at my school and was sent to a local college where a group of us who had won contests at our individual schools all came together and got to meet authors and singers. All of our books were "judged" again and I received 4th place/Honorable Mention out of probably 100 or more kids. I remember being in a small group of kids who had Maurice Sendak author of "Where the Wild Things Are" read us her book. I don't remember my family making a big deal about it or anyone really going out of their way to encourage me to keep writing. And, I didn't. I never thought of writing as a gifting of mine or something that God might use me to do for Him.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I did a study on the book of Esther and I began feeling led to write a curriculum for girls ages 7-10 on becoming a princess of God's-how to develop character, purity, and true beauty. It still took me over a year to begin to write the curriculum-who was I to write a curriculum? But God was putting all of these thoughts and ideas into my mind and as I told people about them I was amazed at how many of them felt it was something that they wanted for their own daughters. I also began to get asked to speak for groups of people. I have been up in front of people speaking for years, but only as someone who shared devotionals or who introduced the person who was speaking.

I honestly don't know if I would have pursued the "Princess Training," speaking or even writing this blog had it not been for the encouragement of my husband. He saw that God was using these things as giftings in my life. He encouraged me to pursue them. He has been willing to invest time and resources into my learning how to develop these areas and has prayed for me and with me about what God wants to do with them. I still don't know exactly how and to what extent God is going to use these in my life, but I am open to His leading and I am encouraged to be by my spouse.

My point here is this: God has gifted you and your spouse with things that have untold eternal value. I want to encourage you today to pray that God will reveal to you what things you need to be drawing out in your spouse. What gifts has God given them that you need to stir up and be willing to support and invest in? Remember that not all parts of the body of Christ do the same things. Your support and encouragement may be all that they need to live fully in what God has designed them to do for Him. Also, if you feel that God is calling you to something, be willing to be vulnerable with your spouse and share it with them. Ask them to pray for you as you seek out what God has for you as well. "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:5-7 NAS

If your spouse is not a believer or if you would like someone else to pray for and with you about a gifting that you feel God is stirring up within you, feel free to e-mail me at ateachableheart@gmail.com.

Many Blessings!