Husbands, do you worry that you don’t know the “right” thing to say to your wife? We’ve got you covered. Because sometimes, “Honey, I’ll put the kids to bed” means even more than “I love you.”
When my wife and I first got married, I was convinced that I knew how to be a great husband. However, it didn’t take long to see that I still had a lot to learn about caring for this beautiful lady I had chosen to be my wife.
Now that we’ve been married for over 15 years, I can honestly say that a good amount of our growth can be credited to the fact that we’ve learned that the other spouse’s needs are quite often different than our own. We’ve found that when we fail to realize what our spouse needs most, it can lead to unnecessary friction, frustration, and even resentment in our hearts towards one another.
As men, we are wired with different needs than your wife. While there could be many things included in this list of what women need, here are five of the top things I’ve learned that my wife needs most.
1. Sleep.
While the average person needs 7-8 hours of sleep a night to function at peak performance, women are naturally drawn towards needing more sleep than men. Many days, my wife will go to sleep before me, and also wake up after me the next morning, and guess what… it’s okay. Our wives need the extra rest, and we should be pleased for them to get it when possible.
2. Words of Affirmation.
While as men, we enjoy our wife re-affirming us and our roles, we need to make sure that we are constantly feeding affirmation into her heart and life as well. She thrives upon being affirmed by you. This could be by way of daily compliments, praise in front of the kids, or handwritten notes of love and affirmation. Your wife needs to be told that she is loved, that she is beautiful to you, and that she is valued.
