Serving Your Artsy Wife

by Preston Hagaman

I married a creative. She loves painting, crafts and photography.

I am about as straight laced and type “A” as they come. I love to read, write and there is not an artistic or creative bone in my body.

The Lord has gifted us each in different ways and each for His glory. The runner runs, the swimmer swims, and the artist creates, all to the glory of God.

The Lord has blessed you with a creative and artsy wife. Praise the Lord! What a fantastic and wonderful gift. She loves colors, patterns and brings an untold amount of beauty into your world. The Lord has entrusted this precious gift into your care for a myriad of different reasons but among them is for you to “promote her physical, spiritual and emotional health.”

You may be saying, “Ok great. I understand that she is entrusted to me and that I am to promote her physical, spiritual and emotional health but I haven’t the first clue how to do so. How do I serve my artsy wife?”

There are a hundred different ways we could answer that question but for our purposes today we will focus on two, creating space and joining in.

Creating Space

Part of promoting her health is creating and developing space for her gifts to flourish and grow. This can look different depending on your skills and gifts, but in the end it is about your creating opportunities and margin for her to pursue those creative endeavors she loves most.

One way that I have sought to do this with my wife has been to create a physical space for her to work. For much of the past year we shared an office. It was often a difficult situation for us both. My wife needs space to spread out and do her thing and there simply was not enough room for us both to work effectively in the same room. Solution? We moved the bed in the guest bedroom and transformed the room into an office for my wife. We were able to find a vintage desk on the side of the road (thanks to bulk trash day) and move furniture around to create a clean, spacious and functional workroom with tons of natural light.

Another important aspect has been to create time for her to be creative. What good is creative workspace if she never has an opportunity to utilize it? My wife’s work schedule provides her with some time to work on projects but there are often times where she needs to go back to her office and work after dinner. Understanding this and creating an environment where she is encouraged to do so communicates my support of and love for her.

Joining In

While it is important to encourage your wife with words of encouragement, when you join in on your wife’s creative endeavors it communicates in a unique way that you love and value the gifts the Lord has given her. It is one thing for us to simply create time and space for our wives to be creative and something else altogether for us to jump in with them. She is your helpmate and will draw great joy from your joining her as she works.

Rolling up my sleeves and joining her does more to encourage and lift her spirits than any words or tangible gifts could ever do. My favorite way to join in my wife’s creativity is to find ways I can help with her small business, Lost In Art Texas. It is a small online boutique with a myriad of products ranging from home decor to fashion. One of her most popular products are distressed wooden Texas Flags. Part of my joining in on this endeavor is in the building of the flags for her to paint and distress. It may be a small thing for me to do but I have found that often in married life it is the smallest of things that can speak the loudest. How I join in with her on projects is of little consequence but that I join in makes a huge difference.

Whether it is repurposing furniture or putting a fresh coat of paint on a chair there are endless opportunities to join in and work alongside your artsy wife that don’t require a great deal of artistic talent on your part. So roll up those sleeves and jump in.

 Closing Thoughts

Whether you create an office for your wife, start building flags or painting furniture is not important. What is important is that you spend time thinking through how you might promote your wife’s “physical, spiritual and emotional health” and how you might be able to join in with her. At the end of the day we are after our wives’ joy and need to consider how we might breathe life into the passions the Lord has given her for His glory. In doing so you will breathe life into your marriage, increase your own joy and love your wife well.

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Preston serves on staff at Dallas Baptist University and is blessed to be married to his wonderful wife, Hannah. Preston and his wife have been married for a little over a year and are members of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, TX. Preston regularly blogs at artofhusbandry.com. You may follow him on twitter.