My husband and I are in the fourth quarter of life. As we gracefully grow old together, we are redefining what is important in our life, and what we can really live without. We find that we have more in common than we ever did before, especially experiencing more aches and pains that are common with age.
Our nest is empty. Our children are raised, and raising their own children, and/or pursuing their own vocations and dreams. One of us still works fulltime, but we can do many of these responsibilities side by side. We are freer to structure more of our time working together rather than working apart.
During the day or early evening, we may take a short stroll at the lake park, a snuggle together on the loveseat, watch a movie or a ballgame together on TV, swing on our back porch, share household chores, grocery shop and bank together, serve jointly in a ministry, etc.
The chance for an uninterrupted chat about what is on our mind is what we really enjoy. We still look forward to a bit of "me time" during each 24 hour period, but we also gravitate together more than we did when we lived life on the run. We actually like one another and respect each other's wisdom.
We were used to hearing the Holy Spirit's direction for our individual calling. However, sharing more time together now gives us more opportunities with each new day to seek God simultaneously for His direction for both of us.
Our esteem, gratitude and affection for each other grows as we admire what we see in one another. We are learning a new way of communicating, cooperating, and having and holding each other. We are like-minded in ways we never realized before.
We are more attuned to each other by God's Spirit. We laugh over the joys in our life, and we hold one another and cry during our shared tragedies. God uses us more as a couple now, and we really enjoy each other's company.
We share the same purpose, and we vow to persistently support and encourage one another all the days of our life, until death parts us for a brief time to await our reunion when we both enter eternity. This will give us an even greater opportunity to serve our King in His Kingdom.
Prayer:
Father God, teach us that each season of our life has its blessings and challenges as we share them together, and You have a perfect plan for both of us through each stage. As we realize that our mate is not our enemy or competitor, we can truly prefer one another and bless one another throughout our life together. Give us compassion for each other's short-comings, and patience with each other's frailties.
As we seek You conjointly for direction for each moment of our day, help us to invest our energy, resources and time in one another as we also pursue our career, childcare and ministry. Remind us to spend mutual quality time at least once a day from our wedding to the grave, and to plan special date times to chat and enjoy one another's company through each stage of our life together.
Thought for the Day:
In a good marriage, during the different stages of life, we learn to pull together rather than to pull apart by equally sharing the good times and the bad; we take advantage of the opportunity to pool our resources in order to overcome the obstacles, as we also enjoy the blessings, which God provides for us each and every day.
