Do You Give To Make Your Spouse Better?

I've got a few minutes this morning before having to get ready for work, and seeing that Valentine's Day was yesterday, and I felt a little less than adequate in showing the world my love for my bride, I thought I'd write something.

Scripture says that God said that it is not good for man to be alone. Amen to that! I am so thankful to Him for my bride of almost 24 years. I was a bachelor for many years prior to meeting Cheryl and marrying her, and I've got to say that while there were times that I enjoyed being on my own, none of those times compare to the sensation of spending my life with her.

The world tells us that marriage is hard, and only the lucky ones make it. To quote Bill and Ted, that is bogus! Marriage can be hard, but that's only if you choose to make it so. The lucky ones are those who actually work on their marriage, that ask the tough questions, and the one where each couple puts aside their own desires to try and fulfill the desires of their spouse. I can honestly say that I do a lot of things that I really don't want to do, and so does Cheryl, but we do them because we love each other and want to give ourselves to each other.

"Forsaking all others." is how the wedding vows go, and I think most of the time when that is said people think about how each of the partners is to stay sexually and emotionally pure and away from other people besides their spouse. That is true, but I think forsaking all others, means also to stay away from anything that would take away from the relationship with each other.

We should forsake anything that will hinder the relationship with our spouse. If we are going to love each other in the sacrificial way that God intended for us to do, then we must put our desires aside for the betterment of our spouse. Now this is not to say that you should never have fun, and a good spouse will understand your need for time apart or doing the things that you enjoy. After all absence does make the heart grow fonder. It's just that we shouldn't desire those other things more than our spouse.

I know that I have been talking in the general sense about marriage and there are some relationships that will find this hard, mainly because one or both of the partners are not making the choices to live for the other, they are mainly living for themselves. But if you want the best marriage that you can have, try to out give your spouse in the area of seeing that things go well for them. I believe in the law of seed time and harvest, if you plant seeds, you will reap a harvest in due season, if you faint not. That means that you have to stick it out.

I am married to the most wonderful woman I have ever known, and I love doing things for her. She may not always understand me, and I know that I don't always understand her, but we continue to muddle our way through this relationship and it has gotten better and better the longer we are together. Take a minute and look your spouse in the eyes and tell them how fortunate you are to have them in your life. You'll be glad you did.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!