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Becoming Unveiled

I am a daily reader of the emails I get from Jennifer at the Unveiled Wife. Almost everyday they hit just the right chord with what is going on in my life at that very moment, verifying the fact that she is prayerful in the way she words her emails and blog posts. I know that she is an instrument used by our Mighty God to witness to me exactly when I need to be moved by Him.

Something I have recently learned through reading Jennifer's book is the importance of being unveiled.

- First and foremost, I am constantly striving to become most honest and transparent with the One who knows me better than I know myself, my Lord, Jesus Christ. I have begun to grow in my relationship with Him, through my transparency, in ways I would have never expected to grow.
- Secondly, I'm learning to be open with my husband, choosing to have intimate conversations about the corners of my mind I have previously chosen to keep hidden. I feel our bond has deepened tremendously and our understanding of one another pushed to new bounds. We are actively striving to improve communication.
- Third, I'm trying to be candid in the things I post online. I am aware of the dangers of the world wide web, but I know the interactions we have in cyberspace can have a huge positive and life changing effect on people. Just as negativity and cyber-bullying are life impacting, I know from experience that encouraging words of wisdom, Biblical truths, and honest personal experiences can speak volumes to someone's well-being.

The third of which I know by experience to be true. I stumbled across Jennifer's book "The Unveiled Wife" by nothing less than God's divine direction. I was longing to reestablish an intimate connection with my husband, scouring the internet for articles and advice as how to bring my marriage to it's highest potential. I am a seriously flawed woman married to a seriously flawed man, and we are just two flawed broken people attempting to be better. No matter how much we press into God and His word, we are human; flawed and failing. Sadly it's in our nature to self-destruct, but I was not satisfied with complacency. If our marriage was one to be God-glorifying, there were definite changes needing to be made, but the flame of success was snuffed out by pride.


It was a few days ago when I read the words of Jennifer's Daily Marriage Prayer, that I realized I needed to excel in compassion. I might have shown glimpses of it here and there, but I was severely lacking in this area. The following prayer spoke volumes from my heart:
I do know that I am not at all as compassionate as I should be with my husband. He is so very patient with me, yet I fail to be kind, patient or generous with him. I thank God so much for bringing this to my attention and when He did, my heart was met with immediate conviction. I began to pray about my attitude toward my husband and I began to think about the way I've treated him lately. 

He doesn't deserve short answers said through irritated tones. He doesn't deserve a cold shoulder when we are in disagreement. He doesn't deserve slammed doors or heavy sighs, turned up noses or crooked jaws, crossed arms or turned backs. And if I feel he does, indeed, deserve those things whilst in the heat of the moment, I have to remember one thing... I deserved all those things, but Christ was compassionate with me. I deserved every bit of judgement and punishment, but Christ had compassion on me. He answered softly and calmly. He held my hand and caressed my face. He looked into my eyes, His filled with love, and forgave me. He loved me and was kind, patient and generous to me when I least deserved it.

I know if I am to be molded into the likeness of Christ, I need to embrace the compassion He has shown me, and show that same compassion to my husband. I need to meet uncomfortable or heated situations with love and kindness. I have to lay my pride aside and remember to treat my husband with dignity and respect, softness and gentleness, love and forgiveness. 

I challenge you to think about the way you've interacted with your husband today. Have you been compassionate toward him? Have you emoted kindness, patience and generosity? Have you meant it?
I challenge you to pray about this area of your marriage. I challenge you to make a change.
I challenge you to forgive yourself as God has forgiven you, forgive you husband in the like, and move forward in compassion from this day on.


If you haven't read Jennifer's book, I encourage you to look into it here.
If you are interested in her blog, you can read it here.
If you are in need of prayer, you can leave a comment below or contact me at lovealeethoughts@gmail.com. 



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