There is fragility in everything. Potential for brokenness. In relationships. In family. In marriage.
About a year ago was a time of brokenness in my marriage. My husband and I had both grown to feel that we were more like roommates, rather than husband and wife. After some time of bitterness, we began to communicate with each other. We had determined the problem, but were uncertain of the solution. We had committed individually to pray for our marriage and our family, seeking God’s guidance for our vision and purpose, as a couple and as a parenting team.
It was at that time that our church offered a marriage seminar. Neither one of us had ever thought of attending this type of event, and weren’t even sure if we felt comfortable doing it. But, it was a highly respected seminar and came with glowing recommendations from our pastor and his wife. So, we planned to attend.
For a day and a half we listened to a presentation by Thrive in Marriage. The first topic of the seminar was titled, The Power of Vision. As part of being engaged in this vision, the leader described seven necessary components. The one of these seven, that resonated the most with me, was…living in love of others.
Why was this so enlightening? I had been writing about seeking God’s will, being obedient to His challenges, and loving others. But, I had really not thought about these things in the context of my marriage.
Through this seminar, I also discovered how much my opinion, words, and actions impact my husband. I was taught that I must believe God’s opinion of my husband. And that, this belief, this view, would change my behavior. Realizing that God sees my husband the same way He sees all of us who have chosen to follow Him was so important for me.
My marriage was saved!
To God, we are holy and dearly loved. Righteous. Saints. Warriors, clothed in His armor. And, nothing can separate us from His love. This is how God views my husband. So, this is how I must view him.
I had resigned myself to the fact that our marriage, our family, was all it could be. While it wasn’t perfect, it was comfortable. But, does God simply want us to live comfortably? I don’t think so. God has designed our life to be abundant and because of this, we should fulfill our obligation to love and bless others. Especially our husbands!
