In Western society, we are altogether too familiar with the words of Ephesians 5:22-24 (ESV), and how this passage has been abused, which says:
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”
What? you’re thinking. It’s Friday, Friday. Gotta get…
Oh, never mind. Rebecca Black was so last month. 😉
Anyway, it’s Friday–why is he running a Wednesday Haterade piece today? I tell you why:
I’ve reserved a special spot in my shriveled little grinchy heart of choice vitriol for a special lady:
My wife.
C.S. Lewis said it well when he said that “love is pain.” This is so because love involves risk–the risk of putting one’s heart out there… only to have it stomped on.
Again and again throughout life.
The temptation here is to–like Montresor in Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado–wall one’s heart off, thereby insulating it from risk.
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Last night, on the way home from my in-law’s house, my wife made a general observation about our marriage:
“We fight hard, but we love hard, too.”
I couldn’t disagree; I mean, insofar as it goes, it’s true: just because we are a couple of introverts doesn’t mean we aren’t people of passion. With passionate, sometimes disparate, points of view.
So, yes, from time-to-time we have fights. Don’t think this makes anything other than what we are: human.
Thus, as a human, and her husband, I had no problem with her statement. Trouble is, our kids were with us, and our son–our double-digit pre-teenager–suffers from an affliction such as is common to man: selective hearing.
Thus he heard only the last part of her remark: “We love hard.”
“Mom,” he said, “my ears!” So I, bless my heart, I tried to clarify:
“Son, what your mom means us that we love fiercely.”
“Fiercely?!??!?” he squealed, laughing.
“Ok, I mean intensely.”
Guffaws from the peanut gallery.
“Buddy, get your mind out of the gutter, ok? She’s just saying that we’re passionate people, and we love passionately. With ardor.”
I didn’t check, but I believe he was doubled over in paroxysms of silent laughter, tears streaming from his eyes.
At this point, I stopped trying to “help,” closed my mouth, and drove home. Oh, the joys–the simple pleasures–of being twelve!
But it’s true: we–my wife and I–we do love hard. And take that as you will.
(Please don’t tell her I wrote this, ok? I don’t wanna get into a fight). 😉
How about you and your spouse (or significant other)? Do you love hard?
