She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work (Proverbs 31:15).

If you’re a husband, it’s a good exercise from time to time to try and follow your wife’s schedule for a day. If she works an outside job, you’ll quickly realize that household chores don’t just disappear because she’s put in eight hours at an office. If she works primarily at home, you’ll soon discover how many roles she’s expected to play in just one day: banker, nutritionist, counselor, interior decorator, chauffeur, educator, and the list goes on and on.

Yet a wife’s work often goes unnoticed or unrecognized. Ingratitude is wrong, if not sinful. So what are two ways to express true appreciation for all the work your wife does on behalf of your marriage and family?

1. Praise her for her resourcefulness. In any given day, wives solve numerous difficulties, problems, and crises. Ask what dilemmas she faced that day, then praise her for her ingenuity and resourcefulness in solving them.

2. Notice the small things. As you walk through the house, notice all that’s orderly. Imagine the state of affairs if you had to manage everything. Thank her for the small things she does each day to make life so much better and easier for the two of you.

—Bob Moeller
www.forkeepsconference.com

Marriage Minutes, Moody Press