Let us praise God when things are going smoothly in our marriages. God’s Grace is felt deeply when both individuals in the union are working together to love each other the way we ought to. But as I said yesterday, do not think we can just sit back and coast the rest of the time. The lessons in this helpful book can take a good marriage and make it even better.
Sadly, too often when a man and woman get married, they stop dating each other. They stop exploring each other’s heart and interests and dreams, which all can change with time, so this can leave a gap in the relationship. I love the title of this book because it emphasizes “Love That Lasts”! As Dr Chapman teaches, falling in love is just the beginning of this most intimate relationship. This elation lasts an average of 2 years, according to the studies he sites. Two years! Yet listen to what Jesus Himself says about this sacred union: “‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’” (Mt 19: 4-6) God always intended marriage to last forever…so if these emotions of falling in love only last about 2 years, then we can see we need something much greater, deeper and lasting to make, and keep, this union fully satisfying. This is where learning the love language of your spouse is so powerful. This is where choosing to stay together through the up’s and down’s of life is so vital. This is where commitment becomes the glue to a harmonious, enduring marriage that displays the Love of God to this broken world. Love is a choice and choosing to remember why the two of you fell in love in the first place, must be the foundation that keeps you standing tall till death do you part.
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The Bible
February: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
<>< Peace, Diane
