Extraordinary Marriage
Today is our 26th Anniversary so, naturally, I found myself reflecting on marriage in general and my marriage specifically. It’s always good to take time to ponder our marriages and see if there’s anything we can improve.
I came across this quote recently from F. Burton Howard:
“If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by.”
If I have learned nothing else in 26 years of marriage it’s that marriage is hard work! I think many of us forget that as time marches on, bills pile up, as we’re raising kids, changing jobs, changing houses, dealing with losses.
When I said “Till death do us part” 26 years ago, I meant it. I think most of you probably did too.
So, take a moment to take inventory and ask yourself:
Do I treat my marriage like it’s common or ordinary?
Do I neglect it while it collects dust or tarnishes?
Do I treat my marriage like it’s special, a gift?
It’s not too late to make a change. Start right now making the effort to treat your marriage differently, shielding and protecting it from the distractions that clamor for our attention. Make your marriage a priority. Give up something if it’s keeping you from being able to make time for your husband. Put in the time month after month, year after year so that your marriage grows more beautiful and precious.
Lord, thank you for the gift of my husband. Please show me if there are places in my marriage that I’ve neglected or forgotten to nurture and protect. Place a shield around my husband, around my marriage, around my home. Help me to treat my marriage like the precious, extraordinary gift from you that it is. Let me remember to not take my marriage for granted but, instead, hold it close and treat it like my most precious possession.