Sometimes You Need a Good Iron...

I think that some people are under he impression that your husband is supposed to be your best friend.

While I do totally agree with this, sometimes I wonder, if he's supposed to be my best friend, why don't we get along? I get along with my other friends. We never have these shouting matches or spats that result in me ignoring them for days. So why don't I get along as well with my husband as I do with my other friends?

Maybe you need to change the way you look at your husband. 

When we think of those good girlfriends, those BFF besties that we love so much and speak so highly of, why are they our friends? Is it because they agree with everything we say, don't interrupt us when we talk and don't tell us when the outfit that we decided to squeeze into to wear to lunch that day looks a mess? Is it because they never tell us when we're wrong, never call us on our crap and never tell us when we sound like a real-life fool?

If they are really your friends, they act the exact opposite.

True friends tell us like it is and don' make any apologies for it. They don't do it maliciously; its really the exact opposite. They love us so very, very much that they refuse to give us anything but the God's honest truth, and, because we love them for it, we call them our best friends. But we treat our husbands like the enemy.

Yikes...

Oh, I understand. He hurt your feelings when he asked you were you really going to have that third piece of apple pie and ice cream. It stung a little when he came home and asked you why we were having hotdogs for dinner, AGAIN. It bothered you when he commented on the fact that the house that you all share really isn't as clean as it could be. I don't know about your girls, but mine give it to me a lot worse a lot more and I take it. Why does it hurt so much when that man says it? Because you're not really looking at him like he's your iron...

Proverbs 27:17

"As iron sharpens iron, 

so one person sharpens another." (NIV)

Think about knives. Who can chop up chicken with a dull knife? When you need to slice, chop and julienne the ingredients for the meals you cook, or slicing that peanut butter and jelly sandwich in half, you don't want to have to saw and saw ad work up a sweat to get the knife all the way through. You want to slice that joker and move on to the next so you can get this dinner cooking. The same principle can apply to you and the relationship with your man. 

Most often times we look at our spouses for complete acceptance and validation, which they most certainly should provide for us. But when we got married, we also promised to love, honor and cherish another person. To help them grow and mature in order to become the best person that they can be. Why should you be able to push your husband to be better and not expect him to push you to your greatest in return? Your husband loves you. He wants the best for you. When he pushes you, it may hurt, but without friction you can't become sharp. In order for a knife to become sharp, it had to be consistently rubbed against another piece of iron.

You're the knife, he's the iron. The rubbing might still, but you're getting better for it. And, on an even better note, one day he'll be the knife and you can rub him. Pun intended.

Give your hubs the same respect that you give your girls. Don't expect everything to be sugar-coated. When he gives it to you straight, be a big girl and take it. 

You're getting stronger and sharper....