To wither away!

I was reading an article online about a famous couple.  The man in the relationship had written a letter revealing how a few years back he was watching the woman he loves wither away.  Stress of life, job and family was bringing the love of his life down.  She was quickly loosing joy and even her body was slowly deteriorating.  Obviously this started to affect their relationship and he was seeing that it wouldn't be long before the relationship would come to an end. 
It was at this moment that he made a decision, that he would live and fight for the woman he loved.  He would show her more love each day, he would shower her with compliments in front of others.  He would encourage her and let her know how important she was to him.  After a while of doing this he started to notice her glow and change.  All through the love and affection he was showing her.
Reading this made me think, how long it takes for some husband's to realize that all a woman wants to flourish in a relationship is love.
God tried to make it simple by saying in Ephesians 5:28-29

"In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.  No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church."

Sometimes even for us that read the word of God don't quite understand the simplicity of it.  How God tries to make simple our manual for a successful marriage.
In my own marriage we had our own down hill battles which stole years of happiness just because we spent too many years trying to be increase our egos instead of trying to actually do what God suggested in Ephesians chapter 5.  I was too concerned about asking my husband for that devoted love but not doing my part by respecting him as the authority in our home.  A man needs to be respected in his own home, he doesn't want to be under minded or questioned on all of his decisions.
The same way a woman needs to feel loved, appreciated.  She needs to feel that she is important and that there is no one else that her husband would rather be with than her.  She needs to be praised for the goodness that she does.  These things that seem so petty or small can increase her self esteem and make whatever battles she is facing seem so small.  Feeling loved can make you seem invincible.  
If you're a husband reading this I encourage you to show your wife the love she desperately needs and deserves.  If you don't show that you love her than you truly don't love yourself.  She's an extension of you.  If she is in pain than you are in pain.  We are human and aren't made of steel, God created us as complex as we are with emotions.  He created us with the capability to feel.  So that through feeling we could also acknowledge when we have wronged Him. 
Therefore, let us strive to make each day special for the person that we love.  If we can spend countless hours to help others that are in dire need of help than we can spend a few minutes a day to let that person we love know that they are the second most important part of our lives after God.  Don't allow that person to wither away when it's in your capability to make them bloom!