Sharing My Husband With Others

My husband is a very capable person, very talented, and very personable. Yes, I am proud of him, but that is not the primary point of this post. This post is about how everyone seems to want a piece of him, and how I have trouble sharing.

I learned years ago that blessings are meant to be shared. I guess I am still learning that. I struggled first with jealousy when my parents poured into others. I wanted them to pour into me. But then I realized that God gave me the gift of them as parents, and them helping others would never change that. I cared less about them helping others after I got married. Yes, I wanted to spend time with them, but I felt less possessive. Then came marriage. I loved the man my husband was, and when he proposed, I felt privileged to marry him and promise to love him forever. I soon realized that other people loved him, too.

Other people love my husband because of the kind and compassionate person that he is. They benefit from being in relationships with him. Sure, they don't love him like a wife, but they love him nonetheless, and they want time from him. I don't want all of his time. I don't take all of his time when we are home together, but when he goes out, or helps others, sometimes I get jealous. It is like I suddenly get a scarcity mindset and think I need all of him.

My dear college friend C. Salena (2023) posted about this on Facebook a while back. She said, "Don't be jealous, possessive, or carnally overly protective of your loved ones. The world needs them. If their life is a gift, let God give it....Don't be jealous....The world needs them...If their life is a gift." All things I needed to hear. All things I needed to consider. Yes, God gifted me with my husband. Yes, I love him and want to spend time with him. God made him, and God gave him, though. He is not mine to possess, but mine to graciously share. God is in charge, not me! To go further, I should see sharing my husband as a privilege, as an honor. How might God use him, and me?

Sharing is not just for kids. It is for kids, and adults. For the unmarried, and the married. All is a gift from God. Can I steward it well? Can I steward my husband well? Can I share? In God's strength, I hope I keep learning, so that not only I, but others, might benefit, and that God might increasingly get the glory. Amen!

Reference:

Wells, C. S. (2023, January 20). I really struggled with friendships growing up military and being from a city where trust and love couldn't be freely. [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/cecilia.s.wells