Proverbs 11

Verse 25: A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. This verse speaks to me as I remember that in marrying Susan, I am no longer just myself...it will be us. I won't only be concerned in life with myself but the well-being, happiness, safety, care, and satisfaction of Susan. If my mom taught me anything, it was that it was a guy's job to take care of a girl. And so I plan to do this. I'm sure also that I'll come to understand what this means even more intimately than I do now. So in verse 25, it reminds me to be generous and to refresh others. In this case I apply this instruction to Susan. In all the things I listed above; happiness, safety, etc., I can certainly accomplish them, or even more, I can be sure to double my generosity and make Susan feel like she is the most loved person on the planet. We went through this in Men's Fraternity at church; that the focus of a marriage is for a man to make sure that his wife feels extremely loved and for a wife to have her husband feel respected. So I want to fulfill my role in this using the spirit of verse 25, with generosity and by refreshing Susan. I can always tell when she feels loved by the smile on her face. And usually she doesn't have to say anything. So if I don't get that response from her, I know that I'll need to be more generous and give her more of my love so that she can feel refreshed. -Bob