I Love Marriage

I love Marriage (and dare I say it…….submission)

The company is great,

The friendship awesome

And the blessings limitless.

And I get to share the journey of life with my best friend, through both the good and the bad.

and the holding hands while sharing moments in conversation, also precious.

Though marriage has not always been like this for me. This time round I get to succeed at it.

Yes I have been married twice. My first marriage lasted just under 9 years and did not include any of the moments mentioned above. It was a marriage of convenience, not so much for us, but for those around us who wanted to make a wrong, right.  This relationship was far from happy.

I am now married to a wonderful man who loves God whole-heartedly and it shows.

And it makes our marriage all the better. We will celebrate 20 years at our next anniversary!

There is great benefit in a marriage built on a three-fold cord.

God, my husband and myself.

With this model, neither of us relies wholly on each other, but we seek God for direction and purpose and although at times a struggle, we willingly submit to this. He submits to God as I submit to my husband as head of the home.

Previously I would have cringed at the thought of submission, in fact I believed it would be a sign of weakness and of not enabling myself to be who I am.

I was SO wrong.

Submission to a Godly man is easy, yes … easy!  A Godly man also loves his wife as Christ loves the church. Love that is unconditional and sincere, not the gushy infatuation, puppy love.  As nice as that is, it is not lasting.

Yes we annoy each other at times, there are times when we don’t necessarily ‘feel’ the love and may not necessary ‘like’ each other (this has become less common as we grow to know each other) but we know we are called to unconditionally love each other. 

For me being his wife is action, submission follows.

There are a few things that have made a real difference in our marriage:

1.      Always being open to listening to Godly advice.

Gleaning from others who have gone before us, those who have travelled a few challenging moments together and are still together ‘emotionally’. We have developed a unique way of discerning who we model our marriage on, whilst keeping a Godly focus.

 We look for others to mentor us in many other aspects in life, marriage is no different!

 2.      Enjoy laughter together.

 This is different for individuals than it is for couples, but finding a method or a way in which we can share a laugh together breaks stress and tension and replaces it with rest and comfort within each other’s company.

 3.      Prayer!

 Pray both together and individually, it supports a three-fold marriage. Initially it may feel uncomfortable, I do remember it was for us, but perseverance has brought a depth to our relationship like no other. It is not obtainable any other way, and the rewards of it are not measurable.

A successful marriage is all about partnership and 100% from both partners – support and belief in each other. Time has brought us rewards like we could have never imagined.

We have been through some incredible times together. We have also been through times of great turmoil that could have most definitely broken us, not only in our relationship but us individually had we not stood firm on our love for God and each other.

I can honestly say, that NO matter what you feel about your marriage, it is worth every minute you invest into it, it is worth holding on to tightly and fighting for!

I love being married to my best friend, oh and I love how he still opens the car door for me! How blessed am I!