Marriage By Design

By design, marriage is a discovery of God's activity in your life. Ever thought of your marriage in that light before?

Marriage is as much of a relationship with God as it is with your spouse.

The health of all other relationships rests on the health of your relationship with your spouse. That is why experts say the best thing you can do for your child is to love your spouse.

Many homes tend to be child-centered, meaning the emphasis is on the children in the family. Everything revolves around the kids. Giving attention and care to your children is important, but the top priority should be the relationship between husband and wife.

How do we improve our marriages? By spending more time with God! From the overflow of our love relationship with God, we love our husbands. That flows down to our kids. And that is when we see God's activity in our life!

I know I run to God often because of my marriage. I can't pull it off by myself. Oh, I try....

I have temporary success...
then I slip up and fail to love and give and serve with a gentle spirit...
then I re-commit and try harder...
and the cycle repeats itself.

It's all about ME trying HARDER. That makes marriage a tough proposition.

When I recognize that I can't do it, I go to God and see how He changes relationships...
I admit I can't do it...
He gives me GRACE...
My attitude and focus changes. I find I am responding to God's activity in my life...

God gets the glory

Isn't that awesome! I just need to stay connected to God and out of that relationship, my marriage and parenting skills flourish.
Unfortunately, there are days I find myself feeling pretty competent and I decide I don't need to spend time with God. I take control of the situation and before long, my temporary success has run its course.

Good stuff to ponder this weekend and have a Happy Mother's Day!