Thursday, February 14, 2013

Steadfast Love

I've been thinking about the steadfastness of love. When you're married a long time every day isn't an emotional high. Life isn't that way and marriage is no different.

The steadfastness of love allows you to realize that even though you may not be warm and flowy inside on the outside you know you have a life partner that loves you no matter what. He loves you with morning breath, bad hair, and loose baggy sweats. He loves you when you're hormonal or actually nagging (gasp). He loves you because he sees on a daily long term basis all you do for him, and the children. Though he's more even keeled than you, he values your input to major decisions and sometimes the trivial ones. He hates to see you cry, even though when tears fall it has nothing to do with him, but it may just be that that's how you're wired. Your steadfast love allows you to do the same for him.

Over time you learn that love is an action; but not just being busy and doing.  Sometimes love is just basking and knowing that you are loved.

Valentine's Day is every day for me - because we each try to live out love.  One day I heard the words that meant so much to me and it was no where near Valentine's Day; but even when I don't hear them, I know I am loved.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Do you know that you are loved? 




Monday, February 4, 2013

Figuring It Out!

One of the joys of marriage, is being able to say to your spouse no matter what the problem is  - "we'll figure it out."
Source
We have done this many times - when we had sickness, job loss, or challenges with children.

But something that supersedes figuring it out, is both of us knowing that we don't have to figure anything out by ourselves.  When we say, "we'll figure it out," we're really acknowledging that at this point in time we have no earthly solution, but with YOU there is a solution and it will show up; YOU will show it to us.

And you know what - HE always does. Sometimes it felt like we were flying by the seat of our pants, but God came through. Sometimes we got reassurance that there was a certain path we needed to take and God came through. Food has been provided, jobs came through, direction on how to deal with children, the right word to say in a conflict...it's all God.

It's good to have someone to figure things out with, it's even better to have God intertwined.

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Is God in the mix in your marriage?