Marriage is a covenant between
two different and unique people that should never be questioned or dissolved.
It is a sacred vow before God to be united for life.
There is nothing in a marriage
that cannot be resolved if both parties of the couple are humble enough to be
flexible, to forgive slights - no matter how huge or earth shattering they are
- and to lay down our life for one another.
If the circumstances are
unbearable, a period of separation for the purpose of reconciliation is much better
than getting a divorce. We cannot "move on with life", but we can
trust God to bring about a resolution in His perfect way and timing.
If our spouse is abusive, we can
get a new phone number, and have a friend read his/her mail before we do, if we
fear it is abusive. We can change jobs if necessary, and alert our friends to
keep our business private. We do not need to live with abuse.
However, divorce is a blight on society
and a lifelong wound on our life that never heals. It impacts the children of
divorced parents and weakens their resolve to continue in their own marriage
and to work out issues with compromise and preferring one another.
Cherishing one another is the
greatest guarantee against divorce. To cherish means to look at one another
with affection and loving consideration; we consistently show love beyond
measure; adore one another; dote on each other and cherish one another from
deep in our heart.
Rather than competing with one
another, or expecting our mate to function outside of their calling and
provision from God, we can discover our mate's gifts and talents and depend on
them for these traits.
We can hire a mechanic or handyman,
if our mate is not gifted in that area, or engage a housekeeper or share the
chores if our wife works too many hours to keep our home to the standard that
we like it.
Communicating honestly and brainstorming
together to find alternative methods, thinking and behavior is a healthy habit,
which prevents bitterness from tearing apart our commitment to one another.
If both members of the couple are
humble enough to make the effort to change our behavior, as well as to
communicate more honestly with each other, then a Pastor, a successfully
married older couple, or a counselor may help to improve our communication with
one another.
We all bask in the Sonshine of a heart-felt
compliment. Making each other feel loved and cherished is the best gift we
could ever give to one another, to our family and to our children's future
mates.
Prayer:
Father God, we have a choice each
day to build up or to tear down our relationship with one another. Help us to
make it our goal to act loving, to quickly forgive slights, and to readily and
patiently bear with one another's fears and foibles. Remind us not to withhold
love or approval, so that we do not compound one another's self-doubt.
Give us Your wisdom to stop
enabling one another's insecurities. Help us to help each other to overcome the
lies Satan planted in our heart during our childhood. Help us to help one
another to feel unconditionally loved and cherished, not only by You, but by each
other as well.
Thought for the Day:
We can prevent jealousy and
insecurity in our relationship by speaking honestly about what we did with our
day, who we were talking to on the phone and why we said or did something with
another person in a particular manner that may have appeared as flirting or
inappropriate for a married person.
