Your Marriage Can Succeed!!!

Love Is Transformational (Love Is…)

As I talked with a friend this weekend, I was reminded of the transformational power of love. True love can help revive the spiritually and emotional downtrodden. It can provide direction and purpose to the wanderer. It can inspire the hopeless. It can help a drug addict and alcoholic become sober.

A poet put it this way

I Love You Not Only for what you are, But for what I am When I am with you.   I Love You Not only for what You have made of yourself But for what you are making of me.   I Love You For the part of me That You Bring out;   I Love You For putting your hand Into my heaped-up heart And passing over All the foolish, weak things That you can't help dimly seeing there And for drawing out into the light All the beautiful belongings that one else had looked quite far enough to find.   I Love You Because you are helping me to make of the lumber of my life Not a tavern but a temple Out of the works of my every day not a reproach but a song.   (Roy Croft, The Best Loved Poems of the American People)

 

I am grateful that the love of my wife has empowered me. When I was in the midst of my "woe is me" pity party, she encouraged me to stop whining and get busy. She helped me see the rivers of talent that exist within me and shift my focus from my disappointments to my future possibilities. Her love helped transform me.

But I am sure that we are not the only couple who has experienced the transformational power of love. Take a moment to reflect upon the various victories you have received because of your spouse's love. And then, the next time you see them, show you appreciation by giving them a big ole juicy passionate kiss. And if that leads to something else – have fun.

 

        

Love Is Precious. (Love Is...)

What's love got to do, got to do with it. What's love but a second hand emotion? What's love got to do, got to do with it. Who needs a heart, when a heart can be broken?

Anyone who has seen the movie "What's Love Got To Do With It" can understand the disdain for love expressed by Tina Turner in this song. While the movie reveals the unbelievable mental and physical abuse she received from her ex-husband, the song reveals the protective mechanisms she has erected around her heart to keep love out.

Most of us can relate to her. At some point in our lives, we opened our heart to the magnetic mind boggling pleasures of love only to be hurt by the so-called love of our lives. As good as love can make you feel the pain of heartbreak can make you feel twice as bad.

Some of us have used this heartache to develop a greater appreciation of true love. We realize that Love Is Precious. It is not something to be taken lightly. It is not something to be squandered for a cheap thrill with "Smooth Talking Larry" or Always Understanding Wanda". We should not toss it away for the chance to be the next big thing or a chance to climb the ladder of Corporate America. We should not toss it away because our single and divorced friends appear to be having such a good time. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

Love is too precious to frivolously toss away. When we find that special someone who loves us for us, that's precious. When we find that special someone who will love us through our faults, that's precious. When we find that special someone who motivates us to be the best we can be, that's precious.

Paul said "for the love of Christ compels us, having concluded this that one died for all therefore all died and He died for all so that we who live may no longer live for ourselves but Him who died and rose again on our behalf." (2 Cor 5:14) The Love of Christ was so precious to Paul that it motivated him to look beyond himself and serve the Lord wholeheartedly.

What has love motivated you to do? We pray that it has motivated you to treasure it. Kool and the Gang said "cherish the Love you have for as long as you both shall live." Are you cherishing your love? During the good times, are you cherishing your love? During the bad times, are you cherishing your love? During the peaks and valleys of your marriage, are you cherishing your love? During the misunderstandings, are you cherishing the love you have?

There is something innate within all of us that yearns to experience true love. We want to be loved by the Lord, our parents, our friends and our children. But most importantly, we want to be loved by that special someone. Thus we should not take the love we share with our spouse for granted. Money, fame, power, people and all the temptations of the world may appear to be great. However, they pale in comparison to true love. True Love Is Truly Precious.

 

Love Is Magnetic (Love is…)

Do you remember when you first fell in love with your spouse? You thought about him or her morning, noon and night? All you wanted to do was be around them. There were was something special about this person. The way they looked was special. Their outlook on life was special. The way they made you feel was special. When you were around them, you felt excited, empowered and fulfilled. You laughed together. You dreamed together. You withstood the trials and tribulations of life together. You worshipped together.

When they were not around, you felt lost and alone. So you did everything in your power to find your way back to them. You would cancel events with your friends to be with them. You would page, email or text them. You would call each other on the phone and spend hours talking about nothing. It did not matter; you just wanted to be together.

Did your future spouse have some bad points? Sure they did. However, the bad points were not enough to demagnetize your love for one another. You were in love and you were determined to be together.

This is how Jacob felt about Rachel. The bible says that Jacob loved Rachel and he was willing to work seven years for her hand in marriage. (Genesis 29:18) Wow! He did not say seven hours, weeks or days. Jacob said seven years. After the seven years were complete, the dastardly dishonest Laban gave Jacob his older daughter Leah instead of Rachel. He then required Jacob to work an additional seven years for Rachel. Although frustrated and feeling betrayed, this did not discourage Jacob from pursuing Rachel. He worked the additional seven years for Rachel also. He was determined to be with her.

How about you? Are you still determined to be with your spouse? Life and all of it demands has a way of pulling at the magnetism that exists between couples. The Contemporary Christian Group, Casting Crowns, calls it the Slow Fade. We get married, have children and start chasing our career dreams. Our spouse does something that hurts us. Some of our unrealistic and realistic expectations are not met. In the midst of all of this, the irresistible magnetism that once existed between us gradually evaporates.

Let's not allow the Slow Fade to eat away at our marriage. Instead, let's quickly resolve our differences and then rekindle our love. Let's celebrate our victories more passionately than we express our disagreements. Let's keep the current issues in our marriage in their proper perspective by not allowing them to cloud our view of the good things that have happened in our relationship as well as our feelings for our spouse. As the Word says, weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. (Psalms 30:5)

As we approach Valentine's Day, we encourage you to either stay determined to love your spouse or rekindle your determination. The magnetic feeling of love is magnificent. However, it is not magic. It takes more than a few abracadabras and a wave of a magical wand to maintain that magnetic love. It takes unbreakable determination.