Quite a Complement

The Lord God said "it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." --Genesis 2:18

My mom was right. My mother-in-law was right. My friends who got married before me were right. Every book I read about Christian marriage relationships was right. Men and women are very different...in a good way!

This weekend I was given a large dose of insight into the male mind. As a result, I now understand my husband on a deeper level and have a better idea of how to be more loving to him in the ways he needs and wants it. I now appreciate how smart God is to have made men and women different so that they may be perfectly complementary to one another in every way imaginable.

If my husband and I were the same in how we thought about things, we would probably never consider all the angles necessary to make a good decision. God has gifted each of us differently. During family discussions, sometimes I am able to bring up a point of view that my husband may not have considered. What's more, he is often able to be much more objective than I am. He is better at solving problems without becoming overly sensitive or emotional about it.

Although I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to break things down into being "woman's work" or "man's work", I do believe that there are certain things that men are much better designed to do--physically, mentally, and spiritually. God has given the husbands the task of being the head of the family--the spiritual leader and representative of Christ to his wife and possibly children. Women on the other hand, are called upon to keep the household together. The wife of noble character described in Proverbs 31 works just as hard as her husband, but does so in softer, more subtle ways. She is able to do this because her husband values her and finds great worth in her.

The fact that I must rely on my husband for things that do not come naturally to me reinforces my relationship with Christ. Just as I would surely fail if I were to attempt to take on the mindset and responsibilities of a man in order to be self-sufficient, I would also fail in my attempts to do anything on my own without Christ. Because I am blessed to be married to a Christian man, I have the benefit of seeing daily examples of God's provision for me. Furthermore, our relationship, and all the complementary ways we interact and communicate our love for one another, are the tiniest glimpse of the kind of love God has for us.