A few years ago, I published a series of posts call No Regrets. I wrote a series of articles, listing several things I would never regret doing with or for my kids.

I could write a similar series about my wife, listing out the various things I can do to help her in her role as my wife, as a mother, and most importantly, as a Christian. I have actually collected a list of things I do for her, or should be doing for her. Some of those will find their way here eventually, and I hope they will be an encouragement to you to be the husband you need to be for your wife.

One of those things from that list is simply taking the time to hold my wife’s hand.

I had no idea just how important this is to her. We used to hold hands a lot while we were dating, or early in our marriage. But when kids started arriving, our hands were usually full or busy with other tasks, and that habit kind of slipped away.

I was forcefully reminded of just how important this is to her on a recent date night. We left town, intending to go to the next town over for dinner. Upon getting there, we both decided that where we had planned didn’t sound very appealing, so we kept driving. We ended up in a town an hour away, and ate dinner in the restaurant inside Bass Pro Shop. After dinner, we wondered the store, looking at boats and camping gear and fishing rods and guns and all kinds of stuff.

As we were wondering through the sporting goods section, she grabbed my hand. It felt kind of odd, since it was a habit we had grown out of. But I glanced at her face, and saw pure happiness. I’m sure it was a mix of things, spending time together without the kids, being relaxed, and probably a lot more. But in my mind, it clicked with the hand holding.

It is important to her.

So it will be something I’m more intentional about in the future. If it is important to her, then it should be important to me.

I would be willing to bet your wife like to hold your hand too. Have you done so recently?

Give it a shot and see how she reacts.

Be deliberate, men!

How often do you hold your wife’s hand? Is this something you do consistently, or do you need to grow in this area? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.