Joe and I were more like the "old" us then we had been in YEARS. It felt so great to feel so happy and see such positive changes in the both of us. It goes to show you what FAITH, HOPE & LOVE can accomplish in your marriage if you just put in a little elbow grease!
All weddings are happy. It is the living together afterwards which causes all the trouble. Even if a marriage is made in heaven, we are responsible to maintain it and that's not an easy task for anyone! But if we follow the building blocks of "Faith, Hope and Love" they can help guide us.
I have been thinking lately "What are we going to do to get back on track?", "How can we make this marriage work?". Then it came to me: When all else fails, read the directions. I needed to pick up my Bible and see what God says about building a marriage which will work as He intended. I knew that if we are to make our marriage work, we needed to listen to what God has to say. I prayed that the Lord would help us do that.
The basic instructions that the Lord gives us are what I found in Ephesians 5:22,25. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. A marriage will not work the way God intends unless each spouse obeys God's command. In football a pass is complete when the quarterback throws the ball and the receiver catches it. That is the only way the play works. For a marriage to work, it requires a team effort.
A marriage will not thrive and may not even survive if only one spouse obeys God. Both partners should seek to follow His instructions. That is what Joe and I have rededicated ourselves doing now. It is clear that over the years we have not put GOD as the #1 in our marriage as we did in the beginning. Our lives became consumed with "life after kids". By that I mean my high risk pregnancy and hospitalization into the twins being born 3 months premature and staying in the hospital then they came home and were on machines and needed constant round the clock care into becoming pregnant with Caden and so on and so on. We became overwhelmed in our new life as parents which caused us to put GOD on the back burner. We didn't know how to balance it all. It's past due for us to be one with GOD again and for us to make him the #1 not only in our lives but the lives of our Children. I was raised in church, spent every Sunday and Wednesday evening at my church. I was in Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, plays, live nativities, sang in church on a routine basis, youth groups...you name it I was involved in it at church. I want that for my children as well. GOD wants that for them too. The Bible says: Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.(Proverbs 22:6)
I am so very blessed that I was raised by parents who saw the importance of raising their family in church. That have been married 38 years this July and haven't thrown in the towel when times got hard but looked to GOD to pull them through. Even though they are my parents, they are a couple that Joe and I look to for encouragement and inspiration in our own marriage. They are great Christian marriage role models. I am so excited to learn from them beginning this Wednesday when Love Dare begins!
Friends, in a world where a lot of marriages simply don't work, GOD used Paul to lay out a blueprint which will enable us to find success. It is not an easy plan, but it is simple. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord and, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. If you find a couple where both partners are consistently doing that, you will find a marriage that works, a marriage that brings joy to each spouse, a marriage that begins to fulfill the deepest needs of each partner, a marriage that blesses other people, and a marriage that brings honor to God. What more could you ever want or need in your marriage, in your family?
So dear friends...remember...
WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, READ THE DIRECTIONS!!!
Great post and reminder! So often we look to self help books or well-meaning fam and friends for advice when we should look to the Creator of Love and His advice. I will continue to pray for your fam as you adjust to an even better place than you were when he left:).
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