Marriage

As the first thankful thing in a new set based on marriage (which carries over to other relationships), it might be important to start off with being thankful for marriage itself.  I am thankful for God’s multi-faceted gift of marriage, for as many reasons as their are facets (that I can comprehend).  

In my husband, God gave me the gift of a leader, a provider, a protector, and a companion.  There is so much there that a woman’s heart longs for.  I find, however, that I have to examine my expectations of what it looks like to be a leader, a provider, a protector, and companion; my definition isn’t always the same as God’s.  

As soon as I seek something outside of God’s will, I begin to follow the path of destruction:  pride, selfishness, resentment, anger, fear, worry, depression... that’s usually my own progression.  This is poison not only in my marriage, but in all areas of life.  (I want to say especially in marriage, but I think, rather, that marriage is simply a prevalent example.)  

That's one of the reasons I began this journey of thankfulness; being thankful evokes humility, contentment, joy, and hope, among other things.  It is my spiritual Milk, to keep me strong on the path that my God has set before me.

Even if my expectations are in line with God’s will, however, my husband is a sinner just like me.  If he is a child of God, he is learning to be more Christ-like just as I am.  My husband will “fail me” - yet God never does.  God reigns over all things, and works all things for His glory and the good of His children, conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:28-29)  God uses “failures” just as deftly as He uses “successes.”  Sure, “successes” are usually easier - but I often learn more from failure than I do from success.  My husband and I are in this together, and we can learn from one another and from one another’s mistakes.

Another of God’s gifts in marriage is the gift of serving my husband as his helper.  Being a wife is my first ministry (in regard to priority), and is very rewarding.  Yet, just as my husband will “fail me,” I will “fail my husband.”  Even so, God’s purpose cannot be thwarted.  (Job 42:2)  God’s Grace is evident to me in that statement, and I am glad that I am not as powerful and in control of life as I often think I am.  

If the Lord has called you to marriage, I would venture to say that your marriage is the primary tool that God has, is, or will use to conform you to His image.  “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  (Proverbs 27:17)  Marriage is definitely an example of this, and that, too, while sometimes painful, is a gift of God.  I am thankful for the gift of marriage.