The Greatest Gift A Husband Desires From His Wife

by Lester Rennard

In the previous posting, we established that the greatest gift a wife desires from her husband is to be loved and cherished as the most important individual in his life. In this posting, I would like to suggest what I believe to be the greatest gift a husband desires from his wife and it might not be what some might think it is.

One reason for some of the difficulties and misunderstandings that couples experience in their relationships is that their greatest needs are not all the same. Compounding the problem is the fact that each sex tends to use his/her own natural framework of needs to assume and conclude what he/she considers to be the needs of the other. On one hand, a wife might find it difficult to understand why her husband 'can't get it' when it is so very clear to her. On the other hand, a husband may question the alertness of his wife when she just can't seem to understand what is so clearly logical to him.

A man may enjoy the good meals prepared by his wife especially when it has that special touch signifying that it was prepared with love. Even though it is often said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, yet that is not the greatest gift that a husband may desire from his wife. He may enjoy the bliss of having his physical and emotional needs satisfied but this may never substitute for the satisfaction of that need that outshines all others.

The greatest gift that a husband desires from his wife is the peace and satisfaction of knowing that he is respected, admired, appreciated and valued for whom he is and the contribution he makes to the family. A man may work assiduously to provide for his wife and family. He may be recognized as a hero in the eyes of society and have acquired the best of things for his family, but will generally be most pleased when he knows that he is respected and valued by his wife and family.

When invested with this gift by his wife, a man will move mountains to provide for her and will be inspired to love and cherish her while keeping her close to his heart always. He will prove to be truth the observation that it is in giving that one truly receives. By giving the gift of love and cherishing his wife, a husband receives in return the respect, admiration and appreciation of his wife. This inspires him to give more and the reciprocal cycle becomes self-perpetuated.

A wife will best demonstrate this gift to her husband by accepting the imperfection of his humanity. She will choose to be encouraging and affirming when the vicissitudes of life strike a hard bargain and will just be as supportive when the chips are down as in times when they may be soaring as eagles. She will be careful to never do anything by word or action that may seem to emasculate him or to diminish his manhood even when he himself knows that he may not be operating on all cylinders at a moment in time. In all her endeavors, she will take pleasure in preserving for him this greatest of gifts that he desires, even at times when he might be most undeserving.