Greetings Prayer Warriors,
Marriages need lots of grace to blossom in the manner God intends, because there are so many weeds that seek to choke them before they flower. Consider how quickly a spouse can go from the ‘love of your life” to someone you figuratively want to kill! Did your spouse change, or just your perspective of them? Kind of reminds me of how Christ’s journey went from “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” to “Crucify Him!!” How fleeting and fickle our love can be!
Our marital relationship can be similar to our relationship with God: hot and cold. Maybe that is why this last week of Lent is a good time for a final self-reflection. Where and why, in my marriage and in my relationship with Christ, do I “crucify”? Where and why am I not looking for the blessing? What is Christ trying to teach me about love as I journey in my marriage? How is my refusal to love, wounding Jesus? What might you learn from Jesus’ life of poverty, relocation, obscurity, loneliness, loss, betrayal, and torturous death?
Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness and found human in appearance, he humbled himself becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8
Lord, reflecting on both your life and death, immediately jolts us out of any self-pity party. How many times have we looked for your reflection in our spouse? In their woundedness, did we recognize you? When we withdrew from them in anger, did we withdraw from you? When we rejected them, did we reject you? When we spoke poorly about them, did we denigrate you? When we chose sleep over being present to them in their need, were we also abandoning you, Lord? Where have we sinned, Lord? In your mercy, please also remember our goodness in word and deed. With contrite hearts, we ask for your forgiveness. Guide each of us on our unique paths to you, while still uniting us as couples on this journey. Heal any deep wounds and enlarge our hearts to love more. Shower us with your healing grace so that on Easter, we too may resurrect from our old selves and be renewed in You. Amen.
The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5
Renewed, may we love you more!
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Hope is eternal. Love never ends. Pass it on!
