Maybe the vow you recited on your wedding day sounded a lot like below…
I, ________, take you, ________, for my lawful wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death
We live in a day where spouse swapping and swinging is a thing. There are apps that intentionally allow and encourage spouses to cheat. It seems nothing is sacred. Do wedding vows matter anymore?
What happened to our morals and dignity? What happened to being faithful to our spouse until death do us part? It seems the moment we start to have an issue, we’re googling a divorce attorney near us.
Am I the only one whose heart flutters when I see an elderly couple holding hands? To see and hear of a love story that has stood the test of time. I don’t know about you but I want a marriage like that. Not a perfect one but a real one.
Did you know real love stories aren’t like the movies and novels portray? Real marriages are messy and full of ups and downs. Yet we convince ourselves that finding our soulmate means we will never be unhappy or feel alone again.
We need to realize that a person can never meet all of our needs.
There will be times that our spouse lets us down and there will be times we feel alone. We need to stop putting so much pressure on our spouses and marriage to be perfect. That won’t ever happen.
I’ve been reading a book called Making Love Last Forever by Gary Smalley. I can’t stress enough how fantastic of a book this is not just for marriage but for dealing with past hurts. If you want a healthy marriage or want to keep it healthy, I suggest reading this.
Marriage is a life commitment, especially if you’re a Christ follower. That’s not to say that you should stay in a harmful environment or allow your spouse to walk all over you. We should all have boundaries of dignity and not allow others to cross those lines.
God highly values you and we should value each other like He’s called us to. When we are full of love from the Lord, it will be harder to get distracted by our ridiculous expectations or temptations. Our perspectives and perceptions can be skewed when we are not in right
Soulmates should show honor, love, and respect to one another.
I believe it’s crucial that we start honoring marriage again. That begins when we stop blaming our spouse for issues. It begins when we encourage our spouse’s strengths and protect their weaknesses.
To sum it up, I don’t think we should throw in the towel and give up on our marriage so quickly or at all really. We need to stop making rash, emotional decisions the moment we feel disappointment. At the same time, we shouldn’t allow unhealthy treatment or behavior (even if we are the offenders).
A Prayer For You
Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of marriage and thank You for my spouse. Show me how to honor, love, and respect my spouse as I should. Strengthen and breathe life into my marriage and all marriages around the world. In Jesus’ name,
Stay hopeful!
