This morning, I found this quote in my email in box. I had just been thinking about this very thing. It's what I call a God-incidence.
"If couples would put half the effort into marriage that they put into
courtship, they would be surprised how things would brighten up."
-Billy Graham
WOW!!! How very true! Some think, why work at it? We're already married. Au contraire, the journey has just begun. The best is yet to be.
People work hard at their jobs. Some want to climb the corporate ladder. Some work hard for the money. They work hard towards whatever goals they've set for themselves. But when it comes to marriage, some just want to coast.
I don't like to use the word "work", it sounds like, well work. But for lack of a better word, I have to use it. I believe that if you want to have a great marriage, you have to work at it. Courtship is just the beginning. The goal is not just marriage. The goal is a blessed marriage journey. Not that one gives 50% and the other gives 50% to equal 100%. It's giving a 100% of yourself. Our cup should overflow with love and giving to our beloved one.
After 25 years (I love saying that), my Knight still opens and closes the car door for me. When we go somewhere, he opens the door for me and allows me to enter first. When in crowded areas, he leads the way. When standing still in a crowded area, he stands behind me. He carries the heavy items, so I don't have to. He'll surprise me with my favorite chocolate or a pint of my favorite ice cream (just for me). He'll call me up and say, "let's go out tonight". This all sounds so trivial, but that's just the beginning.
My Knight and I "work" at our marriage. We are both working towards the same goal. We want to be the spouse God wants us to be. We want to please Him. By pleasing Him, we can't go wrong. In turn, we end up being the spouse God intends for us to be. We put each other first. It sounds so simplistic and it is. The problem is that "self" gets in the way. We have to daily (hourly, every minute) choose to die to self. In giving our best to our beloved, our beloved will want to give their best too.
Not only do My Knight and I benefit from this giving of each other. Our children benefit too. Others who are watching (without us knowing) can tell the difference too. I'm not trying to be boastful. I'm just sharing my heart. I know that there is no way our marriage would be this blessed if it wasn't because we have God in our lives.
Like everything else in life, it all boils down to choice. I choose to have a blessed marriage. I choose to love (verb) and focus on the positive instead of the negative.
My prayer is that whoever reads this chooses what they know God would want them to choose. Following God's will for our lives is ALWAYS the right choice.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
So true. You have beautiful wisdom! I will file this away and some day, if the Lord allows and I get married, I will remember these words. Thanks Lady G.
This is a FANTASTIC post. Funny, I always say if couples put half the effort into marriage that they do into divorce, they wouldn't need divorce attorneys.
God instructs to be edifying in everything we do and you have further defined that in your post. I don't call my marriage work, but an on going process. It isn't always easy when a person hanges or you change. But the beauty is watching the person continue to unfold each petal of their life to be more Christ like. So exciting!!!
Oh...the clothes I work on are for the vintage clothing store on my sidebar. I absolutely love checking out so many fashions of different eras. Being able to restore the clothing is just plain fun! Check out the site. If you are ever thinking of anything in particular, let me know and I can check the warehouse or keep my eyes glued when we go on a purchase. =)
Post a Comment