20 years. That’s how long I will be married to my hubby this May. Has it always been sunshine and roses? No. Do we still have disagreements, and arguments now and then? Yes. But what a blessing it has been going through life with Wilson by my side. He truly is the smile to my frown, the loud to my quiet, and the calm to my crazy. I’m so thankful God gave him to me.
Marriage isn’t something to enter into lightly. It’s a huge commitment. To marry someone is to trust them with your life, all of yourself, and your future children. Marriage isn’t something to do for fun, hoping it will simply take care of itself through the years. It is not something to put on a shelf like a trophy, to collect dust, pulling it out when it’s convenient. Your marriage will not tend to itself in the corner, while you focus on all the other issues of life you want to accomplish. It does not survive on the back burner at a slow simmer while your children are at the fore-front of all that is good in your life.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Genesis 2:24
In this verse in Genesis, we see marriage described as a joining of two to become one flesh. The word “cleave” here means “to stay close, follow, pursue closely, or to join and hold together”. The word “flesh” means “body or skin”.
So how do you take care of your body?
- Daily cleaning and feeding. Seek forgiveness and forgive when needed. Keep the air between you clear, communicate and ‘wash away’ any hurt feelings. Be loving. Know what makes your hubby feel loved and needed, and do your best to love him in those ways.
- Get check-ups and take supplements/medicines. Regularly have conversations and date nights with your husband. If there have been any hurt feelings or arguments, fix them! Go to couples retreats at Church, outings/dates with other healthy couples. Find a more mature (longer married) godly couple and spend time gleaning from them.
- Remove cancers/pre-cancers. Be quick to identify the potential for trouble spots in your marriage. Sure, maybe it hasn’t turned into a full blown problem yet, but if there is something between you that could cause division or strife – get it out! Don’t hang onto anything that is causing problems between you and your hubby. (Especially if it is a sin anyway, and God doesn’t approve!)
