The best thing to hold on to in life is each other.” – Audrey Hepburn
My husband and I wake up every morning to a sign that says that exact quote. It was purposely placed to stare right at us hoping in turn we receive its message daily. Intentionally there as a reminder to us both that after God “the best thing to hold on to in life is each other!”
“Each other” as in husband and wife, best friends, one with God, parents, a team, partners, lovers, wisdom and a gift from the Lord to each of us personally that should not ever be let go of. This perspective of “the best thing to hold on to” is backed up by God’s Word…
So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” – Genesis 2:21-25
I have experienced first hand that life brings us to circumstances which vary from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. How we react to those circumstances and who we choose to go through them with is vital in our possible transformation and life teaching outcome. Remembering firstly that God only wants us to be present in the here and now no matter how we “feel” in HIM! He designed us to experience life with His eyes, His joy and His pain and His guidance.
I myself, was blessed with a man to do life with as his wife. Along with experiencing life rooted in the Lord’s teachings and character, He designed me to do that hand in hand with my husband. I am to take life on, all of life with the man He created for me ~ even if I don’t feel like it.
We together made the vow “for better or worse” not “depending on how I feel.”
I am to do life as one flesh with my husband 100% of the time. YES, 100% of the time ~ ALWAYS!
Now if my hubby is at work am I to duct tape myself to him and spend the entire day next to him, “as one” or vice versa? NO! What this means is we are to be of the same spirit and mind with each other in the Lord, praying and understanding His expectations and each other’s. We are to hang on to one another through communication, trust and planning. Confident that we are both in agreement when faced with life’s choices in decision making. Trusting in each other when faced with temptation, and not being afraid to speak of those temptations to each other so we can over come them together in HIS grace and love. Both of us knowing full well that sometimes the outcome will be as we prayed and hoped for and other times it will not. We are to without a doubt believe that we will survive together intact as one no matter what we are faced with because God is our center.
Easier said than done… I know.
Yes this is truth, and is possible when God is the center of our marriage. God gave me a husband to go through life with! He gave me a husband because He created me to be lead by this man. He gave me a husband to be completed and made whole by me. God gave me a husband to be fruitful in life with. He gave me a husband to experience what love is in flesh form. He gave me a husband to teach me and test me. He gave me a husband so I can become selfless. He gave me a husband to hang on to.
He gave me a husband on purpose.
I screw it up sometimes, focusing on myself and my feelings. I take my eyes off of God and put my eyes on myself and suddenly the partnership of “each other” makes no sense.
I for some reason start to believe that my husband is supposed to be perfect and that he is never to make a mistake, and our “each other” becomes conditional based on “his acts” and marriage resume. I enter a place of “I deserve this,” “you owe me that,” I become entitled, prideful and sinless (yeah right) ~ the furthest from God’s design!
What happens is, I allow the enemy to enter my mind and I begin to “head float” as I call it ~ floating around in my head away from the truth, believing my thoughts and the enemy’s lies completely forgetting and putting away all the Lord has taught me, promised me and trusted me with.
Next thing you know our life becomes my life and well, it is not anything my husband would desire to “hang on to.” I begin to sabotage what God put together and risk our “each other.”
God revealing this to me sucked, I hated it! I did not want to be “each other” when I was right! I did not want to be “each other” when I had to slow down. I did not want to be “each other” when my plans made sense. I did not want to be “each other” when it was not fun. I did not want to be “each other” when I was hurting. I did not want to be “each other” when my husband did not agree with me. I did not want to be “each other” to please my girlfriend’s opinions. I did not want to be “each other” because the world backed up my feelings. I did not want to be “each other” because I was selfish.
S E L F I S H that is who I become in those times I did not want to “hang on to each other.” Yuck!! Admitting that is ugly and embarrassing, but truth. I still struggle with these things. I have had past hurts in my life that the enemy reminds me of and I start believe again that I am all knowing, that I am right, that I am justified.
I “feel”…so I become S E L F I S H.
These are struggles I am up against. However, I am becoming less selfish as I focus back on our center, and as a result I am holding pinky fingers (two at a time) with my husband trusting God that we can and must hang on to each other. Prayerfully heading to a full hold of 10 fingers and an everlasting grip.
Doing life with my husband is what God intended for me. I have learned this the hard way and still sometimes enter the all knowing space, eliminating wisdom and allowing darkness to enter because of how “I think or feel.” I am human, but I am God’s human.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.” – 1 John 3:19-20
I pray that I choose to believe what He has taught me that “the best thing to hold on to in life is each other” and may I add ALWAYS!