Mrs. Congeniality


My morning started out as usual today, with a cup of coffee and my Bible. I'm reading, or in all honesty, attempting to read, the entire Bible through once more this year. Today was filled with some stockpiling of supplies for the construction of the temple, some reminders from Paul that the Bible wasn't written for everyone else, but for our own instruction, and a Psalm praising the Lord for His pure words. Okay, but what really reached out and grabbed my attention today was the Proverb.

Proverbs 19:14 (The Message)

14 House and land are handed down from parents,
but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.

Being the nerd that I am I looked it up on the internet and found this definition:

con·gen·ial (kn-jnyl) adj.
1. Having the same tastes, habits, or temperament; sympathetic.
2. Of a pleasant disposition; friendly and sociable: a congenial host.
3. Suited to one's needs or nature; agreeable: congenial surroundings.

Of course, I'm asking myself, "Am I the congenial spouse that was delivered from God to my husband?" Maybe there's nobody out there who asks this, but I do. Sometimes with all the things I am striving to be I neglect the most important one. Its something special to claim coming straight from the Lord as a gift to someone. That's what God calls children and yet not everyone accepts them as such. But as it is in my power to maintain my worth as a gift, I really want to hold fast to that. Breaking down that definition I can see an easy fit into the first part. Joshua and I have been married for 14 years. Many of our tastes and habits are identical by now. We've kind of melded into each other and can't really remember which one of us brought what to the table of individual tastes in the beginning. That makes for ease in decorating and food prep. Superficial things really when you think about it. Now look at part 2. Ooooh, pleasant disposition, yikes. Friendly and sociable? Good habits for a pastor's wife to have but not the first words you would use to describe me. Character flaws are immediately apparent. Now on to part 3. It really brings to mind the description of Eve in the Garden of Eden. She was made just for Adam, as a help mate for him. She was fashioned by the hands of God from the same material as Adam. Actually she was made from Adam, and yet she still got him into trouble, didn't she? In the end we come to the conclusion that while some parts of being a congenial spouse come more naturally, others require work. Day by day, it is ultimately my decision to remain a good gift for my husband with all of God's help, of course.

Comments

Jessica said…
Wow Amber!! I really liked this post! It honestly opened my eyes.. Thanks.. Now I want to go get dinner ready for my wonderful husband and make sure I am super sweet to him when he walks in the door all Army smelly, taking his clothes off room by room as I walk behind him picking each fallen article up and sympathizing over how horrible his day was and how achy he is from all that hard work :) No but really this was really good for me to read..

Popular Posts