Jim Burns Homeword Daily Devotional for Parenting and Christian Family

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HomeWord - Sept. 2, 2008

 

Connecting 
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:31-33

Recently, my husband has had to travel quite a bit for work.  Generally, the first night he is gone, I usually get through my to-do list and finish up projects I have been meaning to accomplish.  By the second night, I am missing him and anticipating his return.  Even though we make the effort to speak on the phone at least once a day while he is gone, it is just never the same as having him there.

One night as we spoke on the phone, I suggested we try an exercise from Gary Chapman’s book, the Family You’ve Always Wanted.  The husband and wife are supposed to share three things they had done that day and how they felt about each of them.  Both my husband and I agreed that it sounded a little cheesy, but we thought we’d try.  He proceeded to tell me about how he felt about three things he had done that day and I did the same.

This exercise helped us connect with each other emotionally in a way we oftentimes miss.  It’s common for us to share what we did, but that usually feels like checking off a tally. This time, we purposely listened to how we each felt about our day.  At the end of the conversation, both of us felt more connected than we had on any of his trips.  In fact, we have decided to keep doing this exercise each evening.

Marriage brings two people together in such a tight knit way that it is impossible for one to experience something without the other being affected.  While it is a wonderful gift from God, it is also filled with life’s challenges and distractions that take our eyes off of Jesus and off of each other.  Sometimes, these distractions leave us feeling disconnected from our loved one. 

Marriage calls us to love each other, understand each other’s needs, and help make the other person all he or she can be.  This simple exercise reminds us to take time each day to connect with each other and hear about not just what we did, but how we felt about it. 

Going Deeper: 

  1. What effort can you make today with your spouse, or loved one, to emotionally connect with him or her? 
  2. What are the distractions in your life that move your eyes off of Jesus and off of your loved ones? 

Further Reading:
Genesis 1:27-30; Psalm 45; Ephesians 5:21-25

Kelly McFadden works with HomeWord’s radio broadcast and content teams. She and her husband Michael are the new parents of Campbell McFadden.

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