Peace. Calm. Serenity. When is the last time you felt these things for more than one minute?
My husband, Ivan and I just returned from several days at our favorite lake. We took the boat and spent hours skimming the water, trouncing over waves and then found a haven like the one in this picture. We anchored our boat, had lunch, took a short nap, talked about our life and our future, and just enjoyed the calmness and serenity of our little cove by a waterfall. Perfect!
Every once in awhile, another boat or a jet ski would whiz by, causing waves so our boat rocked for a short time. It wasn’t long before the waters would smooth out and we would resume our conversation.
This reminds me of relationships in our lives. We go along thinking everything is going just fine and then there are waves of contention that rock our “boat.” Sometimes we don’t even see it coming and we hang on and try to steady ourselves.
Marriage is certainly like that. We are going along with everyday life, thinking all is going pretty well, and then our spouse confesses something to us, or we hear it from someone else, and the “waves” begin to rock our world. Maybe one of us loses our job and financial worries rear their ugly head. Maybe our young adult child makes very unfortunate decisions about their lifestyle or drops into addiction. The waves get higher and higher and before long, our marital relationship begins to topple over. What do we do?! What CAN we do? How do we hold on together and ride the waves as a committed couple?
First of all, look each other in the eye and remember the vows you made to God and to your spouse. “Better or worse, richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live.” Vows. Commitment. Faithfulness. Love.
Pray for and pray WITH each other about the storms that are rising around you and in your marriage. Look upward to the Lord God together. If one is unable or not willing to pray, then you can spend time with God yourself, laying your burdens before Him. Don’t let the enemy win by sabotaging your marriage. God is bigger and ready to help your marriage be stronger in the storms.
This week on Chained No More Talk Radio, our guest will be author and marriage expert, Dr. Rick Marks. His topic will be “Five Things That Can Sabotage a Marriage.” Dr. Rick will discuss things that can capsize our marriage and how we can prevent that. Please tune in on Tuesday, June 28 at www.toginet.com at 2pm ET to find the answers that could save your marriage.
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:19