<\/p>\n
Recently, my husband Peter was talking to a friend, and the We challenge each other in implicit ways, of course. Just I want these things to change. I want to be more loving. I <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of it is apathy. Some of it is busyness. And yet I have to believe that much of my resistance comes from a fear of vulnerability. What if other people judge me when I admit my weaknesses and fears and anxieties and all the ways I don’t measure up?<\/p>\n Conversely, I shy away from challenging other people–even the ones I love most–because I’m afraid that they will feel judged, or that they will push me away. And yet I believe that speaking the truth in love is one way we can serve one another.<\/p>\n So Peter and I are going to try to be more direct in challenging one another, trusting that our role as husband and wife is to help each other become more and more the people God created us to be. We’re going to start by telling each other about ourselves. I’ll admit the areas where I know I need to grow, and he’ll do the same. And if we think the other person is blind to something, we will–gently, carefully–point it out.<\/p>\n Do you have anyone who challenges you to grow in character? How do you respond?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently, my husband Peter was talking to a friend, and the friend mentioned that his wife had brought up some “character issues” he needed to deal with. And Peter asked me, “When’s the last time we challenged each other on “character issues”? Good question. When’s the last time someone challenged you about your character? The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-family"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nfriend mentioned that his wife had brought up some “character issues” he needed
\nto deal with. And Peter asked me, “When’s the last time we challenged each
\nother on “character issues”? Good question. When’s the last time someone
\nchallenged you about your character? The last time someone said–lovingly–that
\nyou needed to work on how you behaved or how you treated someone else? For us,
\nit’s been a while. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nliving in a household with a husband and three children forces me to think
\nabout my character and how I respond. I know I’m often impatient… I know my
\nneed for order can overcome my care for people… I know I care too much about
\ngetting rid of this baby weight… <\/p>\n
\nwant to become less vain while still taking care of myself. And I know that if
\nI asked Peter to help me–hold me accountable–in these areas, change would come
\nmore easily. So why don’t I ask him (or others) to challenge me more often?<\/p>\n