Giving Without Return

We hear over and over that marriage is about give and take, but I believe it's about giving, giving, and giving some more.

This doesn't mean you won't receive anything in return, but to look for a return is a set up for disappointment. Showing affection, giving gifts, acts of kindness, and words of affirmation should be offered with the true spirit of giving, which means not looking for anything in return.

Is this difficult? Of course it is. Will you feel used? Well, yea if you're looking for something in return, but I believe with all my heart that you reap what you sow.

Think about this...a woman has a baby and finds complete joy in giving this baby everything he or she needs knowing the baby can't do a thing for her in return. She knows she will be exhausted at the end of the day, yet continues to give, and give, and give.

Now, this same woman gets married but something happens to her spirit of giving without return. Is it because the baby is helpless or is it the woman's mindset of giving? Is the woman's spirit of giving conditional or does she have a right to 'expect' a return in her marriage?

Hmmm...just something to think about.