I Fell In Love With Another Man

A couple of days ago, my husband and I celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary, and in those 51 years of marriage, we've moved over 20 times. 

It's helped us understand that Christians are aliens and strangers here on earth (Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11). 😊 And it's made us keenly aware of the unique way God united our purposes as a couple.

Who but God could have worked with two people from such different backgrounds giving us joy in our nomadic lifestyle together? Who but God could have kept us on track in our relationship?

Even if you've never been married, you can embrace the relationships God has placed in your life, especially family relationships. Just like marriage, every good relationship requires forgiveness, consideration, and love in order to grow and improve.

Sometimes we forfeit God's purpose for our lives by giving up on our marriage, our parents, or our siblings. We fail to realize that the most difficult relationships often yield the greatest Christian maturity in our lives if we stick with them instead of taking the easy way out.

On September 5, 1970, a selfish unsaved 19-year-old woman married a selfish unsaved 20-year-old man. There really was no hope that our marriage would survive. But 4 years later I met and fell in love with another Man named Jesus, and a few years later my husband did the same. Jesus revolutionized our thinking and our marriage, and He can do the same with your difficult marriage or family relationships.

Jesus has taught us (and is still teaching us) how to genuinely love each other. We not only owe Him our lives and eternity, we owe Him our marriage. 

💕💕💕💕💕💕

If you want to read some of my marriage posts, check out the collection of Marriage Devotions. If you are struggling with a difficult relationship with your parents, check out the collection of 1-minute devotions about Honoring Parents. If you'd like to improve your relationship with your siblings or your friends, check out the collection of 1-minute devotions about Relationships. If you'd like to be aware of a teaching which has encouraged many people to take the easy way out and selfishly forfeit God's purposes, check out the collection of reviews of the Boundaries book and articles, especially Speak Your Mind even if You Lose Your Marriage.

When this was first published (9-2013), I noted that my husband and I were jet-lagged, having just flown to Budapest where we previously lived and did Christian ministry. Many of the comments below the devotion address this.

Bible Love Notes