Love Dare - Day 33: Love Completes Each Other

OK, in all honesty, I have issues with the title of today's dare. I also cannot stand the line in Jerry McGuire when he tells her "you ... complete ... me". Now, I know that it is supposed to be all romantic and stuff, and I suppose that it is. But, truthfully, who can REALLY complete us? Only God, my friends, only God. So, given the choice, I would choose to call this one "Love Compliments Each Other" and call it a day. But I did not write this book....

So, there ya go! We will do it their way ... However, this IS my blog, so I reserve the right to correct when I feel the urge.

That being said, let's start over ...

Love Dare - Day 33: Love Completes (Compliments) Each Other

When God created the human species, he did so in two parts - man and woman. And, in such, he created a balance. Where one is weak, the other is strong, and vise-verse. Where one gets excited, one stays calm; where one gives up, the other presses on ... You get the idea. We are created - man and woman - to balance each other out and keep each other in line. It is a good system, WHEN it works as God intended!

"If two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?" - Ecclesiastes 4:11

It is like your hands. You have two hands, they are separate entities and CAN work alone, but are soooooo much more efficient together. Now, obviously, there are people with only one hand. And I am sure that they learn to get along just fine. Just as there are people who stay single and get along just fine - Hey, the Apostle Paul never married and God used him to write a hefty chunk of the Bible! There are also people who HAVE two hands, but may only have the use of one of them. And, in time, they too learn to function and get along (just as I have seen people who are technically married, but, in truth, living alone). But, how much easier is it if there are two hands working together?

People are different, and nowhere but in a marriage, can theses differences be more apparent. BUT, the differences can be what makes a marriage strong! They can also be what wears a marriage relationship down. It is all in the way that these differences are seen, approached and handled.

One partner can be impulsive, while the other is more thoughtful. Now, this can be a problem if the two do not realize the beauty in their differences. The trick is to balance each other out ... COMPLIMENT each other. Sometimes impulsiveness is fun and good. And, sometimes, it is far better to stand back and check a situation out before jumping in. We just have to know which is which. It is all about the balance!

When we learn to accept and appreciate the differences in each other, we are able to avoid the dangers that come with them. We learn to NOT criticize the other partner, but cherish those differences as the complimenting factor to our own "stuff" that they are!

Sadly, some people never learn to accept the beauty in their differences and they fight them tooth and nail. This causes so much more difficulty than it is worth. I mean, c'mon, can't we all just get along? (I have been waiting this whole series to put that in there!!)

The effectiveness of your marriage is all in how you handle - and appreciate and USE - the differences between you. Do you have a big decision to make? Don't make it alone, compliment each other. Do you have some planning to do? Compliment each other. Do you see where I am going with this? I think ya do!

Don't try to do it all on your own, it is not how God intended. He put you two together for a reason, us those differences to make the most of your life, marriage and family. Use them to glorify God in your lives together. How beautiful will it be when you let yourselves COMPLIMENT and balance each other out?

TODAY'S DARE

Recognize that your spouse is integral to your future success. Let them know today that you desire to include them in your upcoming decisions, and that you need their perspective and counsel. If you have ignored their input in the past, admit your oversight and ask them to forgive you.

This can add so much beauty to your marriage, if you let it! It may be hard, but look ahead to the beauty and know that it is worth it!

See ya tomorrow!