Loving Your Husband Well

One thing that has stayed true through my art career, book releases and Home product line is my passion for people, and that extends very clearly and distinctly to my family. I always want to make sure I am not overstepping the boundaries that God put in place when I became a wife to my precious husband more than 20 years ago. My mother always told me that the order of my priorities should be God first, my husband second, my children third, and anything else should fall into place beneath that. This was an easy formula to follow early on, when it was just the two of us, but shortly into our marriage we were having babies right and left, and before I knew it, we had a houseful of four little ones. I can remember when they were little, I would tuck them each in bed by 7 p.m. so that my husband and I could enjoy the evening together. Fast forward to the teenage years and a schedule full of painting, managing, writing and traveling. In order to love my husband well, I have to seek God first in the midst of everything being juggled.

I was heading to Hilton Head a couple of years ago for a book signing. It was the week of our Gallery's grand opening and a busy week, but the signing was on my calendar, and it couldn't be shifted or rescheduled. The morning we were slated to fly out, my dear friend was hosting a brunch and invited a speaker to join the event and speak to us about loving your husband well. Even though my calendar was already packed, I knew I needed to be there, sitting and absorbing that wisdom. Our speaker, Barbara, addressed our group of women, armed with 50 years of marriage under her tool belt, and she taught us wisely, gracefully and lovingly from God's word how to prioritize our husbands and love them well. The brunch was delicious, but it was the meat of her words that I was able to digest in the small prop plane taking me from Charlotte to Hilton Head that afternoon, helping me realign my perspective through the cloud of chaos swarming around me.

As Father's Day approaches this weekend, I was reminded of the challenges women face to love their husbands well and make them a priority in the mundane madness of everyday life. Be encouraged that God's word is full of gentle and clear instructions about how and why to order your life with our King at the top, and our husbands directly beneath.

I have an amazing husband that I have the privilege and honor to love and serve all the days God has given me on this earth. Happy Father's Day, Clark!