Sharing the Diamonds – Appreciation & Affection
In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy is chasing a butterfly with a net. She yells out, “Hold still! Hold still, I say!” Gentle Linus steps into the picture and two butterflies land on each hand. He carries them to Lucy – “Here, I think maybe your teacher will like these.”
“Promise you’ll let them go after you’ve studied them, will you?” Linus further implores.
In the last panel, Linus stands there with the butterflies in each hand and the net thrown over his head. “I just can’t believe Rachel Carson would ever have let herself get so upset.” Incidentally, Rachel Carson was a biologist who wrote a book back in the 60s, Silent Spring, that touched off the modern environmental movement.
But the point we are illustrating is the importance of showing appreciation, especially, appreciation to your spouse as we draw near to Valentine’s Day Saturday.
One wife said of her husband, “Very few days go by that he doesn’t say something like, ‘You look really nice today” or “The house is so clean and comfortable; it’s a real pleasure to be home.”
The husband is also sending another message – “You are a person of worth and dignity. I am aware of your good qualities. I affirm who you are and what you do.” That message is not expressly stated, but it comes through loud and clear. With the power of his positive words, this husband has enhanced the way his wife feels about herself.
Think about some of these incidences in the Bible where family and friends expressed appreciation for the other: Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 45:10-15; David and Jonathan and then, subsequently Mephiboseth in 1 Samuel 20:14-18 and 2 Samuel 9:1-8.
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In the customs of that culture, a prospective bridegroom brought a present of cows to the girl’s father. Normally, such a dowry consisted of three or four cows. An outstanding bride could fetch five or six cows. Mahanna’s father expected two cows. Johnny Lingo brought nine cows for the hand of Mahanna.
Johnny & Mahanna returned to his island after the wedding feast. Several months later, villagers saw Johnny arrive in his canoe. They asked themselves, “Who was the poised, beautiful woman with him?” As she and Johnny walked through the village, people realized that the beautiful woman was Mahanna – transformed from within by her new picture of herself.
The moral of the story – treat your spouse as a nine-cow person and see what happens!
Showing appreciation is certainly not just reserved for the husband-wife relationship. Our children need to be taught their worth by what we tell them about themselves. They need to know that they are loveable, capable, and valuable.
Appreciation and affection are the glue that cements relationships together. That glue needs to be applied in all the familial relationships – husband-wife; daddy-child; wife-child, child-child.
Show appreciation to your spouse every day of the year and Valentine’s won’t be limited to February 14th.
–Paul Holland
