"62 years of marriage, that's something to be proud of! What's your best piece of advice?"
"Remember, he has a heart, too."
I'll never forget that conversation years ago between myself and this woman in her nineties, as she sat taking her dialysis treatment. It didn't sound like much at the time, but I took that thought home with me and allowed it to marinate. Then I thought about all the times I spoke harshly to Justin, without concern for his feelings, emotions, or HEART. I was angry, I was hurt, I was justified, and I wanted to see a reaction from him, so I would hit him wherever my words seemed to penetrate the most.
Many arguments escalated due to my careless words. Many times he would come home from a long day of work to a stressed-out mother of four, barking orders rather than offering hugs. So many days I spent thinking about my own heart, my own needs, my own feelings, without concern for his.
I decided that day to care for his heart as I wanted him to care for mine.
Dear wife reading this, you have so much on your plate. You multitask like a boss. You carry the load of the home, work, children, school, laundry piles, temper tantrums, and broken hearts; but in all your busyness, you cannot afford to forget that above all that, you are the keeper of your husbands heart; and the condition of his heart is highly dependent on how you care for it.
You have the incredible power to either soften his heart, or callous it. You have the power to create a loving, safe haven for him to come home to, or make the home a battlefield. You have the power to build him up, or tear him down with your words. Which are you doing?
The good news for those like me, is that every day is a new chance to be the best keeper of his heart you can. Maybe yesterday you yelled too much, or spent all your talk-time ranting about your job. Today you can spend time asking how his latest project is going. Maybe yesterday you tore him down the minute he walked through the door. Today you can welcome him with a smile. Maybe yesterday you thought only of yourself, and how much you deserve. Today you can think about how much he has done, and reward him for his hard work (wink wink).
You are so important. You are the keeper of his heart. Of all the women in the world, he chose to give it to you. How will you care for it?
