Real Men Do Dishes

Last weekend a bunch of the men from Flatirons went up to Crooked Creek to serve the ladies at Women's Retreat. My good buddy (and Christian counselor) Dave Garrison joined them and he cameback down the mountain with more than dishpan hands...he came home with the following insight. Enjoy!

-- Dan Foote

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When was the last time you got a standing ovation from your wife…or from 300 other women?

 

That’s what happened at Barbie Boot Camp (the Flatirons Women’s Retreat) this past weekend. A small army of 40 Flatirons Men committed themselves to cooking, serving, and doing dishes for the women at the women’s retreat. At breakfast on Sunday, all the men were brought out and the women expressed their gratitude through applause, whistles and smiles. 

Embarrassing, humbling….but still pretty cool to be on the receiving end of their appreciation.

                                            (Retreat volunteer and busboy Robb Paolasso)

Oh, to get that level of appreciation from your wife or girlfriend!  What a game changer that can be. And I guess that’s the lesson: men have to serve first.

The men up at the women’s retreat made the food, served the food and cleaned up afterwards….not expect anything from the women. There was no “Hey, let’s make a deal, I’ll cook and do dishes if you’ll _________.”(Fill in your own blank). There was no score keeping: “Hey, I served you, now it’s your turn to serve me”. The mentality of the men was simple: “We’re here to serve you. Nothing expected in return”. 

The Bible is pretty clear about this too. It says “Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church” (Ephesians 5:25).  It doesn’t say “Husbands love your wives as long as she does for you in return”.  In the book of Mark Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all…” (Mark 9:35). Jesus goes on and speaks of Himself saying, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” (Mark 10:45)

Making a commitment to serve the women in your life, by doing some cooking, cleaning or helping out around the house may not get you a standing O, but maybe the little smile on her face…and a greater sense of appreciation might just be enough. 

(A special shout out to my fellow Pit Crew members:  Jim, David, Austin, and Ewing)

– Dave Garrison