In
our marriage, we are often discouraged, frustrated, lonely, unhappy, and weary
of serving our mate. However, these times will decrease if we focus on serving
one another as unto the Lord (Galatians 6:9). This prevents weariness from overwhelming
us.
We
serve each other for God's sake, not for what we can get out of the
relationship, or to manipulate our spouse, or to gain accolades for our self
since we feel like a martyr. We certainly do not look elsewhere for another
partner - the problems will follow us.
We
continue to do the right thing for God's sake, regardless of how our mate
treats us. We just do more acts of service, give more gifts or focused
attention, encourage and affirm each other, and hug and kiss and gaze into each
other's eyes more often.
(
https://www.5lovelanguages.com/ )
We
live in hope that our partner will eventually be won over by our Godly
behavior. We choose to stay married for life and to make marriage our second
priority in life, with our unity with God our first priority.
Every
other endeavor comes after these two relationships. A loving marriage quenches
the hunger in our soul for affection, affirmation, gratitude, attention and
cherishing. It reduces our stress, because we have a yoke-fellow to help carry
our load. We face our trials together.
This
increases our energy, contentment and joy in every area of our life. We serve
our King Jesus together in ministries that complement each other rather than
pull us apart. We support each other through sickness and health until death
parts us.
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us to live out our marriage vows by serving one another in good
times and in trials; not blaming the other, but carry our load in life
together. Teach us ways to increase our intimacy, to strengthen our unity, to
really listen to one another, to care about each other as we care about our
self, and to never grow weary or apathetic about doing good deeds for each
other.
Help
us to see that the grass is never greener on the other side of the fence,
because we just exchange one set of problems with another. Remind us to promote
peace rather than discord, intimacy instead of a lack of harmony, gratitude
more than unrealistic expectations, and to love our mate as they need to be
loved instead of in our own way.
Thought
for the Day:
Making
the effort to have a good marriage pays off big time in benefits throughout our
lifetime; we accept one another as we are, we attempt to bless each other every
day, and we allow Christ to love our mate through us.
