Helpful Words for the Long Haul
No marriage can survive without forgiveness. Marriage is a long term commitment between two sinners. (Elisabeth Elliot)
When the Fight Starts
We’re both believers, and have been married over 2 decades, but when my temper flares, there seems to be only one sinner in the room.
And it’s not me.
Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit and He’s done something unique between us. Before we got married in our late 30s, I remember telling Jesus,
I don’t know how to be married. I only know how to be single. You’re going to have to help us.
God’s answer to my prayer is an ongoing, quiet miracle.
Unbelievable Grace
I don’t get angry too often any more, but when I do, I blow like a volcano. My husband, on the other hand, becomes a brick wall. So I become the “irresistible force” and he turns into the “immovable object.”
It could have been a disaster.
But it isn’t.
Why? Because whenever I stomp out of the house and take a walk to cool down, the Holy Spirit starts working in both of us. By the time I return home, we’ve switched sides in the argument. Each of us is suddenly willing to do what the other one wants.
So the argument and hurt feelings evaporate.
Did I say an ongoing miracle? Yes it is. But perhaps you’d have to live in my skin to understand. I was born a fiery redhead. Opinionated. Stubbornly sure that I’m always right. I don’t “switch sides” with anyone else, just my husband. So our marriage has become sweeter over time.
Thank you, Jesus; You do the impossible.
These images came from Pixabay.com
Resources:
Here’s another version of my newest meme. The older couple are a bride and groom in Turkey. Notice her white dress and the flowers she holds.
No marriage can survive without forgiveness. Marriage is a long term commitment between two sinners. (Elisabeth Elliot)
