Hubbie's Birthday/Reflecting on Marriage

Humor passed on to me--
WIFE "Do you want dinner?"
HUSBAND: "Sure, what are my choices?"
WIFE: "Yes and No."

Ingredients of a good marriage: love, friendship, a sense of humor, humility.

What the Old Man Does is Always Right. Although exaggerated to prove its point, this Hans Christian Andersen tale is a wonderful illustration of a good wife obeying God and submitting to her husband (cf Ephesians 5).

THE STORY: A farmer makes a series of trades starting with his horse and ending with a bag of rotten apples. Two wealthy bettors hear about the farmer's foolish transactions and bet him that his wife will receive him with "cuffs" when she learns what he has done. But the farmer, confident about the character of his wife, looks forward to her "kisses".

Mr. Farmer returns home and hands his wife the bag of apples. Just as he predicted, she receives him with kisses! She enthusiastically thanks her husband, thrilled she now has something with which to repay her stingy neighbor. Reading between the lines, we see she has learned to "Be content in all things." Also, it is evident that Mrs. Farmer places little worth on material possessions or individual actions. She loves her husband and values their marriage above all else. If the idea crosses her mind that her husband has acted foolishly, she overlooks or "covers" his sins to protect her relationship with him. Mrs. Farmer knows her husband isn't perfect, just as she isn't perfect. Only God is perfect, and if our perfect Creator can forgive our multitude of sins, overlook our imperfections, and continue to love us, then we must do the same.

The bettors happily reward Mrs. Farmer's extraordinary faithfulness by giving her and her husband a bushelful of gold. But the real gold is the couple's marriage, which no doubt is even stronger for having passed the test.