Marriage.

I have a heart for marriage. If you didn't already know that about me, you do now! Not that everyone should be married; we should all live as we are called. But that those of us who are married are called by God to live this thing out to the best of our ability, for His glory. It is no small task.

Why am I writing a post about marriage? Mainly to express this burden within myself and to give testimony to my children. There is warfare, people. Marriage is under attack in this world...by one who seeks to destroy. And I believe he's doing it slowly and deliberately, not overtly or impulsively. We have to be on guard!

So here are a few thoughts & prayers from my heart...

Marriage is:

~two becoming ONE. (Gen 2:24)
That means we are a team, not each man (or woman) for himself. We're not supposed to just coexist under one roof. No, we can't make our spouse change into who we want them to be, or think they should be. But we can be committed to the greater good of the whole, meaning the marriage itself, believing we can reach this state of oneness that God intends. There is always hope!

~sacrifice.
Not standing up for my rights or what I "deserve"...to have things my way, or to get a break or whatever. It's laying down my life for the other person every single day. Placing his needs before my own. Again, to ultimately be in union with him, before the Lord.

~glorifying to our God.
Ultimately I think marriage is the most intimate relationship that God calls us to on this earth (below only our relationship with Him). Marriage is often referred to in comparison with Christ and the church in the New Testament for a reason! It is the ultimate picture of glorifying the Lord in relationship. Does my marriage look like this to the world? When this is what we seek to exemplify, together, then I believe we can be most effective for His kingdom and can experience the abundance God desires for us to have. He came so that we may have LIFE, and have it to the FULL! (John 10:10)

~not easy.
It takes work! It sometimes requires some pain to get through the "stuff" before we get to the blessing. it requires some hard conversations. But it is so worth it. I don't say that from this place of "all is good because my marriage rocks." We have been through our hard roads, and we will no doubt encounter some more, but we are committed to claiming victory over the attacks the enemy tries to wage on our marriage. As we tell our boys, the bad guy never wins...unless we let him. Christ is victorious. He can redeem all things.

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Father God, thank you for this thing called marriage. I pray that my heart for it is your heart. Change my desires to match yours. Help me to lay down my life for my husband every day. Show me how to do this thing like you want me to.

I pray for "the ones" who will cross the paths of our sons...Lord, may they follow you and seek you above any other affection on this earth, and may their hearts be to honor you in marriage. May our sons place a high regard on marriage, and seek to uphold it to all that you desire. May they truly experience your abundance in marriage one day, Lord.

Lastly, I pray for all those marriages out there that seem hopeless. Father, redeem them. Be victorious. Open hearts, soften hearts, convict hearts...like only you can. Help us to live in this union to reflect you, Lord. All for your glory.