Well, he asked for it, RM, that is. He's meeting with another man on a weekly basis for accountability and business inspiration. Iron sharpens iron, right? Sometimes the sharpening is a little too sharp for our liking! So far, it's been really good. They've been setting certain goals that they both wanted to see accomplished in their business week and it has really pushed each man to go beyond what they normally do as they realize they have to meet up the next week and give an account.
Last week, RM shared there just isn't enough time in the day to get all the things done that he hopes to get done, from fixing machines or cars, to writing computer courses, getting new work, finishing the major renovations on the farm and house, to prepping the buildings for new animals, and oh yeah, he has a wife and 8 kids that really like spending time with him, AND we are planning on hosting a ridiculous number of events this summer on the farm......! The list went on and on. They decided, do we really not have enough hours in our day? Could we be better time managers? How can we add more hours? So, they set their business/life goals for the week and then decided, the only way these things will get done is to both get up at 5 am every day until we've accomplished what we said we would. That may not sound that hard. I get up at 5 am almost everyday already, but I'm naturally inclined that way. I have my Dad's genes, not my Mom's! Dad is up every morning EASILY at 5am. He drinks his (seriously) pot of coffee, reads his paper, preps for his day and then, (here's the sweet part, ladies......remember this is rare.....it got my husband in a lot of trouble for a number of years!) he takes up a fresh cup of coffee, with cream already in it, as well as the rest of the pot in a thermos and puts it by my sleeping mom for when she is ready to wake up. She is not so much a morning person! All that to say, if you told my Dad to get up every morning at 5 am, no problem, but my mom? Not sure how that would go over. Same with Renaissance Man and myself. If you tell me, 5 am is the plan. No problem. RM? Uh, you've got to be kidding. So he's on day 2 of this new regime and is DYING! But he's accomplishing SO MUCH!!!! I'm very impressed. I hope he will be able to get all the things done that he wants to. My job is to have the coffee ready for him, continue to prompt him to wake up gently (!) and get him in his office so he can text the other guy that he's awake and working! Oh, and I pray.
I could do a whole blog post on just praying for our husbands. It is the greatest thing I can do for him and in fact, sometimes the only thing I can do. Think about it. Fixing cars? Nope, can't do it. Put in a barn floor? Nope. Look for work? Cut hay? Side the house? Nope, nope and nope. It literally is impossible for me to do those things. I couldn't, even if I wanted to! And I've offered! I've said, "If you taught me to ride the tractor, I could probably learn how to cut the hay for you!" He just laughs, thinks I'm being cute and shakes his head at the thought of me on a tractor. I've suggested other ridiculous things, but again, he says, "We need you alive." In other words, the things I'm suggesting I do or learn could easily kill me, so not that great an idea. So I walk around the house, all day long and pray. I pray for wisdom for him, for time management, for God's blessing on his life, his work, for creative ideas to come, resourcefulness....you name it, I pray for it. And I see answers! Often! Daily. No other wives, at least hopefully none that I know of (except for my Mom - I know she is praying for all of her sons-in-law) are praying for him, so it is my greatest responsibility and privilege.
Last time I wrote about being an ant. I think RM is really trying to be an ant! The verse talks about the ant having no overseer yet it knows what to do all day and accomplishes huge tasks, doing more than is humanly possible, lifting many times its weight in some cases, all day long. RM has no overseer either. It was different when he used to work downtown Toronto and had the accountability of a boss, or two, in some cases. Once he was on his own, there was no one to report to - that can be freeing, but is also a bigger responsibility.
I'm grateful for this other accountability partner for RM. He's pushing him, sharpening him, in a way I cannot. So Scripture comes to life again, Proverbs 27:17, "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." What a great verse. It doesn't say anything about a wife, though obviously we do sharpen one another, but if the Scripture wants to talk about marriage, it usually uses words like "husband" or "wife". In this case it is generic and just says, "man". I haven't done the Hebrew word study, I'm just saying that sometimes outside sources are helpful in a marriage. Just like my husband can't meet all my emotional needs. God has given me wonderful, Christian, female friendships. They meet the needs a husband cannot and that is a gift from God! So, too, in a man's life. Male friendships are really vital (and rare!)
We're only 2 days into this new early morning life.....I'm hoping he'll make it! I'm hoping and praying God will bless this new habit he's trying to form in RM. It is hard, but I think once he sees all that he's able to do in a day, he'll be convinced it is worth it. Watch out. I sense a blog post coming on the great benefits of early mornings......
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