“What a Man wants, What a Man needs”

Ladies, I thought I knew, but I had no idea. There is something that the men in our lives need more than love, money, or even sex! It’s RESPECT!!!

I learned this a while back, but over the past few weeks I saw it play out much differently than I had imagined. I thought respect for my fiance was telling him how proud I am of him, and how much I love him, and how excited I am to have him be the leader of our household. When little did I know I wasn’t giving him the respect he truly needed.

According to our marriage counselors, my fiancé, like most men, didn’t need an “A- da boy; great job”, he needed me to trust him, trust his abilities, his judgments, and most of all trust the God in him.

Respect for him is a silent, quiet, respect that speaks louder than words. It’s the stillness of my lips when he makes a “wrong” turn, but I just wait patiently trusting that he knows where he’s going and that we’ll get there ontime, and it’s even the bigger things like trusting that he knows we’re getting married in just as little as 4 months and that he’s setting himself up, with Christ’s help, to be able to provide for our family and give me the security that like most women, I need.

The RESPECT factor is huge to any man, whether it is your significant other, father, uncle, pastor, mentor, or brother. The Men in our lives want to know that we really trust them and even more so, that we trust their relationship with Christ.

So, I share this with you because this personally is a challenge for me; I am very verbal and opinionated, and although I do trust and respect my fiancé, I sometimes talk entirely way too much or just at the wrong time.

These are just a few verses that help me to remember how to respect my fiancé:

Ephesians 5: 33 “ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must RESPECT her husband.” (New Living Translation)

Proverbs 13:3 “ Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” (New Living Translation)

Proverbs 10:19 “ Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” (New Living Translation)

~Candace