How do I serve my spouse?

"Jesus served his followers by washing their feet. In his culture that was the job of a servant. I asked my wife and she had no desire for me to wash her feet, but she had a lot of other good ideas, such as: take out the garbage, vacuum the floors, wash the dishes, dust the blinds, and keep the lawn looking nice. I followed Jesus' example, and I live with a happy woman."
—Gary D. Chapman, marriage and family expert, married to Karolyn for 43 years

With Father's Day approaching I have been doing a lot of thinking about ways I can make life easier for the love of my life, my husband, Tim. I read the above quote by Dr. Chapman and realized that in marriage, serving one another should be one of our highest priorities. Yes, we need to serve our children, in our churches, and in our communities. But, I believe all of that should flow from what begins at home.

What do I do to serve my husband? These have to be things that I get no, and expect no, credit for. Things that I do out of love, not obligation or in seeking reward.

The first thing that comes to mind is breakfast. Tim is diabetic, so he has a very strict list of what he can, and mostly can't, eat. Every morning I get up early and fix him breakfast. Nothing fancy, eggs and sausage or bacon. If I did not fix it, he would probably not eat anythign at all. Not that he is lazy, far from it. He is usually in a hurry and doesn't take time to take care of himself. And because of the diabetis, he can't just "grab something". Somedays, I get up hours before I have to and make him breakfast. Then I go back to bed.

Do I get a, "Thank you, honey."? Not usually. But, that is OK. It is a way to serve the man I love. To ensure he is getting his day off to the right start. I also make his lunch most days for him. While it is certainlly easier to grab fast food, there is little he can choose from. Again, my sending him approved things to eat, I know he will not be hungry and his blood sugar levels will hold steady.

Enough about food. Hmmm, what else do I do. I suppose caring for my stepchildren may fall into that catagory. I love my stepchildren, but on a daily basis I think I may go beyond many stepmothers. In fact, I may devote more time to my stepchildren than I do my own children. Is this something I have to do? Not, really. It isn't my responsbility to get them to school, pick them up every day, help them with homework, and do daily devotions with them. But, I do. Because I love them and their father.

Ahhhh, there he is. My love had gotten home from work. That will have to be enough contemplating for now.