What TV Teaches Us About Marriage: Home Improvement

We continued our series of what TV has taught us over the years regarding marriage. This week was Tim Allen's Home Improvement. This was a funny TV show that centered around the foolishness of the husband/father and the common-sense of the wife/mother.

The meat-and-potatoes of the class was focused on Mutual Faith. This would seem to be common-sense and even common-place, but this may not be true for many of us. While going over a quick exercise, Nelly and I found some differences in what we find important in regards to our walk.

The class demonstrated 2 ways marriage can be like our relationship with God:

• Faithfulness
• Forgiveness

We also went over steps to get marriage spirituality in synch:

• Respect your partner
• Recognize your shared values
• Pray for your partner

The piece that I most enjoyed was a simple question: Are there certain ways you have discovered to use your partner's gifts to over-come your weakness?

This really spoke to me. One of Nelly's greatest strengths is her compassion. She truly has a heart that is wrapped in caring - so much so that she takes on too much at times. She is always there to remind me of what is truly important. This is not to say that I'm a heartless grinch, only that it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and small, yet important, things can slip. She is always there with a gentle reminder for me.

Another part of the class that was thought-provoking was the talk of "wives submit to your husband." Nelly and I went to the "Love and Respect" seminar and it was a game changer. There is much to be said about submission, and one of my friends has written a great post. She is a believer, a great writer, and a great person. This is her post on "Why I am a Submissive Wife."

It really is  a great read and what better way to hear it than from a wife walking with Christ?

Praying for us all. Hope to see you next week!