I tip-toed 'round, avoiding the places on the stairs which creak, lifted the latch on the door aaaallll the way first, and then opened it, hoping it wouldn't stick. Like another more infamous Murphy (Murph the Surf, jewel thief and beach bum) I held my breath, clung to the door jamb, and slooowly let my weight fall, retrieving my slippers from the floor outside my mother's room. Waking her means awakening her perpetual thumps and whistles which continue until bedtime. She has taken to sleeping later, and I am not going to buck the system. So why go to such extremes just for a pair of slippers? I felt naked without them! It was then I realized just how much like my husband I had become. Scott is the Gucci king. (He calls his slippers "Guccis" and the explanation dates so far back I can't even recall what it is; but here we are.) He has indoor Guccis and outdoor Guccis. His feet have never --and I do mean never-- seen sunlight, wall-to-wall carpeting, fresh grass, Pergo, or anything but a bathmat, bedsheets, or the shower floor (and that would be our shower floor; all others are on a case-by-case basis). Newborn babies across the globe envy the velvety softness of his feet. Legend has it, someone at a public pool actually went blind from their brilliant white flash. But I digress. When Scott and I first met, I didn't own a pair of slippers. I now have two: those I wear first thing in the morning, and those I wear over my socks later in the day. Don't judge me, help me; it's a cult.
Living together as husband and wife, we transform one another --hopefully for the better. Proverbs 27:17 (CJSB) says Just as iron sharpens iron a person sharpens the character of his friend. We are meant to make one another better. My husband, as head of our household, bears the overall responsibility for that. If one occupant is tearing down another, he needs to set it right. If someone is struggling with their responsibilities, he makes sure the problem is resolved. And as his helper, I encourage him in that, facilitate his authority and management of the household, plan with him how our family and we as individuals can fulfill our specific roles and discover who God has called us to be. We make one another better --at least, that's the objective.
We adopt one another's methods. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 (CJSB), Paul urges the Corinthian believers, try to imitate me, even as I myself try to imitate the Messiah. He's talking about intent here: observe, learn, copy what I'm doing because I'm copying what Jesus did. My husband and I learn from one another. I see him doing something in a much better way, and I study that with the intent to imitate; he does as well. From time to time, there are intentional show-me-how-to-do-that moments, and we teach one another through explanation or demonstration.
And then, there are the slippers. I never liked having anything on my feet. Indoors or out, on every possible occasion, I was barefoot. My husband, the man with floors so clean that --even with a dog-- you could eat off them, pointed out that my naked feet, as they roamed freely in the yard, were magnets for grass and dirt which then accompanied me back into the house. My husband works hard for his dinner plate floors, so out of respect, I began keeping shoes by the door for my trips in and out. Eventually, I began keeping them on all the time. Now, I'm almost as obsessive as he is. And it just sort of happened. I didn't want slippers. I didn't like slippers. I wore them, not to appease an angry husband, but to demonstrate respect, to treat him as I would care to be treated. Because I initially placed value on our relationship, because slippers developed as a habit, they became something I want to do, something I personally appreciate.
How closely do you resemble Jesus? Is your marriage to Him a joy or an obligation? Is there something about living with Him that feels forced? Are you doing "good things" to appease an angry God? Is there some habit --like Bible reading, prayer, church attendance-- that just won't gain a foothold (no pun intended)? Psalm 119:97 says Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Can you honestly say that? I do it! I love it! What have you learned from Scripture in the past week? How many passages have you memorized in the past month? When you look at your life, who do you see?
We become more like Jesus when we spend time with Him. Scripture clearly spells out His methods; it's all recorded that we might live in the manner He lives, love as He loves. His Holy Spirit, through His presence in our lives, transforms our character, makes us better versions of the image bearers we were created to be. And while we don't make Him better, we do bring Him glory, by the way we spread His gospel in word and deed wherever we place our feet --with or without Guccis.
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