Articles
Is Marriage Just A Dream?
Did you ever daydream about what your marriage might look like? What kind of person your spouse would be? What sort of relationship you would have together? Even whether you would have children and where you would live? I know little girls often dream of their marriage. Now think about the life you have today. When our realities do not live up to our dreams, what can we do about it?
Marriage vows often include phrases like “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.” All marriage relationships contain these things. No matter the circumstances, choices, shortcomings, or surprises that may have landed us in a less-than-dreamy present, we cannot look to the past to make it better. We can only commit to a better future starting now — “from this day forward.”
Having the marriage of our dreams is often very challenging. Having that marriage will require strength, but we are inadequate. So we need strength from the Lord. We will need to rely on Christ’s strength. His strength is always enough. Even if we find ourselves in a marriage relationship where we are struggling with our love for our mate — we can rely on His love that never runs out.
Modern culture tells us we should look for that perfect person: “the one.” If we just find and marry “the one,” everything afterwards is wedded bliss. That is too much to expect of anyone. Is there anyone that can bear that responsibility? No other person can complete me. It is an unrealistic expectation to think that and is fraught with disappointment.
God is the One who completes me. He created me to love Him with my whole heart, and to put Him above all else. God is my One. My spouse is my two. And when the two of us commit to seek God together, we can build a marriage—together—on a firm foundation that will stand the test of time.
What can I ask God to do in me that would make me a better partner to my spouse? What can God do in me to become the kind of person my mate would want to be married to? Here is one very significant thing: I can seek the One with my two. I can begin by committing to pray together every day, even if it is through a text message, over the phone, or silently. I can end the day by reading God’s word together. I can walk the journey together with my two, both of us being transformed into the image of Christ.
Yes, we can have that marriage we dreamed of, with God as the One who rules our hearts and walks with us in life. When two people are determined to please the Father always in all things, the marriage dream can be a reality!
Rickie Jenkins
