IS IT WORTH IT?

The couple sat before me, baby in tow, both looking splendid in their own individual way but something was evidently missing. The electrical sparks that flow between couples in love was gone and there was a coldness that had seeped into the marriage which was building a wall of ice where the warmth of fire had previously existed. Gone were the stolen glances, the warm blushes, the fleeting but constant touches and the footsies under the table. The courtesies that a dotting husband outlays to a loving wife was replaced by a commanding tone of one determined to subdue another.

The visit was initially set out to celebrate the birth of a first child but soon turned into a counseling session and each one poured out the pain of a marriage gone wrong. As they outlined each perceived hurt, disappointment, failed promises, dashed expectations, fear for self and hopelessness for tomorrow, I was caught in how similar the root causes of many troubled marriages are. The man constantly seeks to be respected and honored while the woman wants to be loved and adored.

The Everlasting Creator when instituting marriage did so intentionally for our good. He had already created the spirit as male and female equal in his sight and then following the creation of the physical man instituted marriage by creating the physical woman with uniquely different attributes who would in conjunction with man carry out the work of expanding His Kingdom on earth. In that union and all others thereafter, marriages thrive and blossom, surviving ups and downs when the husband earns respect and honor from his wife and this is only achieved when he loves and adores her unconditionally. Where these do not exist the marriage crumbles and dies. May all our marriages be healed today.