Familes, like each of us, come in all sizes and shapes. But there were moments when I felt deeply moved by the sadness, incompatibilities and frustrations and the shear pain I saw in the marriages of a few friends. A friend once said "I was a happy young girl till the day I got married, then every thing went in to a downward spiral. My life has never been the same after that day and now I seem to have no hope." Hearing that word made me realize that - The one life defining relationship was definitely "Marriage".
I felt sad for her, but I could not say anything which could change that situation for her. But when I listened to the message this sunday, it was crystal clear to me.
I encourage you to listen to this message too (link shared below). It was preached in church to a christian crowd, so if you are not a christian, a few things the pastor refers to from the bible may not be known to you, but I am sure the message will be a great blessing. To encourage you further, I will share a testimony of my life here:
My marriage was an arranged marriage. That meant I was getting married to a total stranger of whom I knew nothing about till the day of our engagement and even till the day of my marriage. I didnt know about his likes, dislikes, habits, beliefs and extent of faith(except that he was a christian who went to church), etc. But on the day of our wedding, I asked him to join me in prayer. We knelt down and asked Jesus to be the head of the journey we were beginning together. We asked Jesus to be the 3rd strand in the 3-strand chord.
It was a simple prayer in faith, nothing fancy at all. But that one act of faith has been the anchor of our marriage both in joyful and tough times.
Though we began with this prayer, we both had our fair share of quirks, whims and differences. I had a temper which was way off the mark and I could wound with words easily. We could not find common ground in many issues like handling finances, and a lot more. But the strong bond that kept us together and helped us yield to God's moulding in our life was the obedience to what the bible calls "Covenant" relationship.
Bible says "what God has brought together let no man put assunder".
The bible calls the marriage a Yoke where two persons are Yoked together. There were time I cried out to the Lord, "looks like you have put a donkey and a horse in the same yoke together. How do you expect us to walk in step with each other." I prayed, "Lord either make the donkey a horse or the horse a donkey, which ever way you seem fit for us to run this race together." God is faithful to answer every prayer. He has moulded me to answer softly and changed my temper. I remember how the bible verses popped in my mind every time I said a rude word, God was changing my character for the better. Jesus changed him for the better too. Now we walk much more in sync and in obedience to God than we started off. And I am confindent, the Lord will lead us going forward too.
This is the blessing I desire for you and your marriage. So I encourage you to listen to this message and invite Jesus to be the 3rd strand in your marriage and see the miracle of his Love flow in and transform each heart and unite your thoughts to walk in step. Even if it’s just you seeking God’s help, if anyone can change your other half, it is Jesus. So seek Jesus first in your life and Jesus will do the rest!
