Holy Spirit Junior

     At our small group the other night, I said something about wanting to be Holy Spirit Junior in my husband's life and one of the other wives started laughing. She told me later that she had literally considered that her job until a recent mentoring Bible study. I still struggle with that desire, even though I know it doesn't work, because my desire to say something is stronger than my desire to be helpful. To remind myself when to shut up, I have come up with the following jingle:

  Tune is the chorus of "Battle Hymn of the Republic.

I'm my husband's Holy Spirit

just in case he will not hear it.

He might miss God's will or fear it.

I'm sure God needs my help.

     The "it" in line two does not refer to the Spirit, but His message. I'm not a heretic. But I am making progress because I want to be a good wife to Reed and he already has a Holy Spirit who, unlike me, know how to change men's hearts. The best I could do with my encouragement/nagging is temporarily alter an outward behavior. What I often pray for my husband is that another man will help him grow spiritually, because through decades as a Christian, I have learned the best way to reach a man, is with a man. 

     So the other night, when I was bothered about a spiritual practice that I do religiously, but rarely see him do, I asked him if I could say something "preachy". He was okay with that, so I stated how much I rely on ________, and that I don't know how he is making it through the hard times we have been having as a family without doing ________. By asking his permission first, it caused him to really listen, and by making a statement about me first, I did not come across as someone who has spiritually "arrived" trying to help out a lesser being. That "Why can't you be perfect like me?" attitude. As far as I know, nothing has changed about _______, but it was good to know something has changed in me. For those who still like to give the Holy Spirit a run for his money, the jingle can be adapted to other relationships:

                                                          

I'm the Junior Holy Spirit

to the ones who will not hear it.

They might miss God's will or fear it.

 God really needs my help.