I have been blessed to develop a Titus 2 relationship with an older woman. A while back we were talking about a very large task that she felt God was calling her to. Her biggest sign that this was indeed a calling from God was not in the form of lightning bolts or revelations during prayer, but in the form of her husband. This new undertaking would require her to be gone from home for a while and cost an unknown amount of money, two things that her husband normally resisted. (Don't most spouses resist those things?) And yet to her surprise, instead of her husband being hesitant or wary, he enthusiastically supported her adventure.
"I use my husband as a barometer," she explained. "Since he's for it, I take it as a sign that God really wants me to do this."
I really like the thought of regarding your spouse as a barometer of the Lord's will. (I should probably list a string of caveats here, but I'm too lazy.) After all, God can use anyone to speak to us, and who better to use than the person He's united us with in the sacrament of matrimony?
Recently my husband suggested a new endeavor for me. It was something I hadn't thought about for years, though it was similar to other projects I've been contemplating. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if this isn't God speaking through him. Now I certainly don't think every word that issues from my husband's mouth is straight from God. But when you've been praying specifically for the Lord to guide your spouse and in turn your family, and your spouse says something that really gets you thinking, well, it seems foolish to just disregard their comment. It's something that deserves prayer and discernment. In my case I don't think it means I must immediately start following the suggestion - perhaps this was just a seed that needed to be planted and it will turn into a more definitive calling several years down the road. Whether it turns into something big or fizzles to nothing, it's so exciting to think about how the Lord might use my husband to direct my path!
Have you ever felt God speaking to you through your spouse? Have you ever felt like God was calling you to direct your spouse?