She Applies Respect to Her Fiancé After Reading Love and Respect

I always love hearing from others after they have begun putting into practice the principles of love and respect. It is especially encouraging when I hear from young couples who decided to be proactive about implementing love and respect, rather than waiting to see if the need arises for marital help.

Love and respect, as explained to us in Ephesians 5:33, is not just about conflict resolution; it is the foundation for a successful God-honoring marriage, intended to be practiced from day one, just as this young lady learned:

I'm engaged, and an older couple in our lives recommended your book Love and Respect, then our premarital counselor gave it to us.

As a young fiancé, I'm enjoying putting into practice many (but obviously not all yet) of the areas of respect mentioned.

We are purchasing a home together, but it is mostly my fiancé's finances that is going into the purchase. He has worked diligently to complete all of the necessary tasks that go into the task.

Today, when his extended family asked about how the process was going, I got to tell them how he's going to be an excellent provider and about how hard he has been working.

I've never seen him as confident around his family as he was after I said that. He also later was quite happy to give me the face-to-face friendship I crave.

I'm so thankful to have this book  as we enter marriage soon. It will be a great (though not always easy) adventure to be able to put these lessons fully into practice when we are married next month.

What an emotional boost and confidence builder it must have been for her fiancé to hear his bride-to-be boast to her future in-laws about the excellent provider she already knows he will be! How did her praises about him speak the language of respect into him? How did that lead directly to him wanting to give her the face-to-face time he knows she craves?

Do you have a similar story about how applying love and respect to your spouse resulted in him or her returning the favor in an unexpected way? I’d love to hear from you.

-Dr. E