When this verse first came to me, I thought it was for my husband. And then I found myself in a pretty bad situation and I realized it was for me and other mothers/wives.
Maybe it will help other moms who may, by his grace, stumble upon this post.
Families are fragile
Handle yours with care
Shower with unconditional love
Defend with constant prayer.
It is so easy to break up families these days. It is even expected in some situations (I can just hear concerned voices saying "you should leave him ..."). But families are much more than the husband-wife relationship. There are children, this is obvious. And much more, but less generally acknowledged, there is God.
My daughter Patricia (an incoming Political Science sophomore at UP Diliman) was telling me about a speech a friend of hers wrote for school. Her friend was saying that people should make sure before they get married and have children that they will stay together and raise their children properly. Seems like an obvious statement. However, taking into account the girl's own life, hearing this made me want to cry. Her parents had split up when she was a baby and she didn't live with either parent. When they were still in high school, she and her sister lived in a house with a helper. Now that they are both in college, they have their own condo and no more maid.
Another friend then said that the couple should remember that a marriage isn't just between them, but should include God. Incredible words to hear from an 18-year-old girl known for her bad behavior in high school -- she would escape from school over the fence and drink and smoke and party all night. But despite this apparently bad behavior, she's a really nice girl, very respectful and a good friend. In her case, her words are also very important in her context. Despite much difficulties, her parents have stayed together and they are a close-knit family, with the three siblings very much involved in each others' lives despite large age gaps.
God loves us with unconditional love and this is how we should love our husbands/wives and our children. It might not be easy, but doable, by his grace, and with constant prayer.
That was a pretty wise comment from an 18-year-old indeed, and one too often forgotten.
ReplyDeleteBut it's so important because, while humans fail, God does not; and when we realize that though our partner breaks his promises in marriage but God, who is the third party in that marriage, will always keep his, then we get something solid to hold on to to keep the marriage together.
God bless you, sis.