Our daughter sent us a photo on the first of December. It’s of their little elf who had brought hot chocolate for their 4 children to enjoy when they 2 woke up. It’s a cute tradition many young families have adopted to bring fun and encourage anticipation of the celebration we call Christmas.

Elf on the Shelf–He has become quite popular.

However, not all holidays are filled with such laid back fun. Our Christmas is requiring us to step up the care of Tom’s mom who broke her hip in October. It has been a challenging season knowing what is best for her and how I can best help Tom in the process. I have found myself struggling to do what’s normal as opposed to what’s needed. 

As I was praying this morning I felt the Lord encourage me to put my “self” on the shelf! In other words, lay aside MY plans to take care of Tom’s needs. He needs me to walk this road with him, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

What about you? In what way is God asking you to put your “self” on the shelf in order to love and serve your spouse? 

Let’s do our best to do our best for the sake of our relationship. We may need to ask God to help us make this decision. I get that. It’s not easy saying no to self, especially when what is on your calendar is just as important to you. But this is what love is.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭ESV‬‬