We live in a Disposable Culture where people all around us see people and relationships as disposable.
I met a woman whose husband left her and their three children to live a life addicted to gambling. He legally divorced her, but there was no infidelity or reason to leave apart from his addiction. She continues to pray for him everyday to be healed and come back to their family. She told me that she made her covenant with God to be faithful her husband and intended to keep that covenant. She said in order to do what’s best for her children and honor her commitment to protect and provide for them, she is putting herself aside and trusting God to fill her loneliness and loss with Himself. She is determined to stay on this path of faithfulness and protection, trusting God to provide for her family. What a picture of endurance and faithfulness.
Knowing that marriage represents Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-32) it’s important that we prioritize our marriages. That woman’s faithfulness is a beautiful example of the undying faithfulness we are to have to Christ. Recently I was reminded of the importance of making sure my husband is a priority and knows how much I love him no matter the circumstances, the busyness, and the demands from other things and people. Time with him needs to be on the top of my list just below time with our Savior. When I fail to prioritize him in my schedule and with my best efforts and creativity, serving other people quickly fills in that gap. Our spouses should be the ones we most celebrate, most attend to, and most affirm.
When our children see us prioritizing our marriage (planning dates together, spending intentional time together talking and making one another feel loved and known) they understand that marriage is important and of value. If they see us deprioritizing each other in favor of spending time with other people (including our children), not being intentional about celebrating each other, or even joking about divorce, our children can become insecure, afraid, and anxious. When we show our children that our marriage is worth our time, effort, and attention they can rest knowing we are faithful first to God and the commitment we made to Him and to each other. They see that we will do the work it takes to make our marriage un-disposable. They also see how to do that work themselves in the future.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
What do you do to make your marriage a priority and un-disposable?
