Married life

By Suwanee Lennon

What do you call someone that has been married 7 years?  Not newly weds, and not yet "seasoned", I guess the mid-marriage mark is labeled the "troubled years".  Once you throw in a few kids, and the income stays the same, things can get tough financially, emotionally you get into a lull where you go on with life in a robotic state.  Nathan and I hit this lull about a year ago.  Things were not good for us, in fact for awhile there we could barely stand each other.  I guess this is the point where most people look towards divorce instead of reconciliation.  Well, Nathan and I made a covenant when we got married.  A promise not only to each other, but to God, to work out our problems, to put each other first, and to love God more than anything.  So what did we do?  We went on a cruise.  Not for a vacation, but to save our marriage.  Did we have fun, of course!  But that was not the main purpose of the trip.  The point was to spend time alone without the kids, and to work out our problems.  We took with us the book Love & Respect.  Now anyone with children will know that this book is not "quick", it's not easy, and it definitely is not easy to do being interrupted by children.  So what better time to do it, than on a boat with nothing else we needed to do, and noone to interrupt us.  I won't go into details, but seriously, this book saved our marriage.  It made us put each other first, evaluate our walk with God, and taught us to reconnect and open up to each other.  We are determined to, once a year, go over this study and reconnect.  We made a promise for better OR worse.  We won't give up when things get tough, we have committed to work harder.  We are not perfect people, we all make mistakes, but with God's example we give forgiveness freely.  We don't look back on the past, but we are determined to make plans and set goals for the future.  Our kids WILL be raised in a loving, godly home.  It takes 2 people working together to make it work.  If we both do our part, we will be successful.  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phillipians 4:13  I am so thankful that we didn't give up on our marriage, on each other, and on God.  We made it through our trials stronger, wiser, and more aware of each others needs.  I am so thankful for my husband and for God.  Both have shown me what unconditional love is all about.  I love Nathan more today than when we first got married.  I love how God's hand is in everything, and how our trials teach us lessons.  Thank you God for showing us how to love like you love!!  Keep your marriage strong by putting the other person first and by keeping God the center of your life!