My husband pastors our church, and we have many opportunities to serve together. Those times are exhilarating as we use our gifts and see God at work.

Recently, my husband had the idea for us to preach a sermon together. Whenever he asks me to speak, my heart beats a little faster and my hands get a little sweaty. You see, my husband is a preacher. God has gifted him with words and speech, and I am delightfully comfortable in my role as listener! In this particular moment, my heart’s response was, “Sweetheart, you could do it so much better all by yourself!” However, my spoken response was, “Fun! Let’s do this! What do I need to do?” It was a moment where I chose to go with it, trust my husband, and enjoy the ride.

You and Your Spouse Should Serve Together

The process of preparing was such a joy. Studying with him, talking through points, digging deep into the Word and finding gold for our souls. The weekend came, and it was absolutely invigorating getting to sit by my husband and preach together. Even in the very moment of teaching, I had to be in a place where I was okay with whatever happened. My husband is a genius with a brain that can do amazing things, like memorize whole messages, and learn incredible amounts of facts and truths. We had planned on the points we each would cover, but there were times when he would keep going, and I would need to pick up in a different place in our notes. I am very good at reading notes, not so much at memorizing them, so when he would go on a tangent, I would scramble a bit, and then ask myself, “How can I support that point, and move on to the next one? How can I help to make this great?” All this to say, after we preached at five different services, I had learned a lot about being flexible with my husband. I had to choose to do whatever it takes to best serve him, and, in that specific situation, our church. It was a special weekend, and so much fun.

I can’t help but think that times like these of serving together is actually like the icing on the cake. It’s thrilling and electric! But it is a very small part of our actual relationship. The other parts that make up our friendship are the daily little things that don’t get the limelight. It’s how we serve each other and ask, “What needs to be done?” in the things that aren’t as exciting, like making the bed, or cleaning out the garage, or dealing with a stubborn three-year-old, or having a heated discussion.

Something God has been bringing to my attention is this concept of serving Him wholeheartedly in the seemingly small things in my marriage. I want to be really great at the little things. Harriet Beecher Stowe once said, “To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.”

I have some incredible women in my life who excel in this toward their husbands. They don’t necessarily say the words, “What needs to be done?” but they ask it with their actions and with who they are. They live out Luke 16:10, which basically says if you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.

God has shown me the weightiness of pouring my heart into serving Him in every aspect, big and small. I’m so thankful God gives us the strength and grace we need for such a task!

As I seek to serve my husband in marriage, I want to be the kind of spouse who serves him in the small ways as well as the big ways, and continually asks the question, “What needs to be done?”