Making the effort part 3 (TAKEN FOR GRANTED?)

Bonjour a tous,

We have discussed conciously making up our minds to work on our marriages or relationships. 
We have learnt to go to God in difficult situations, we have decided divorce is not an option.
Does that mean we give a green pass to our spouse to be unfaithful to us? 
Or for our spouses to neglect the core values of spicing up the marriage and keeping it enjoyable. 

Marriage is about consisently doing life together. what do we do in our daily lives. 
Lets remind ourselves; sleep, wake up, prepare breakfast, eat, take a shower, wash dishes, go to work, attend to peoples needs, come back home, have dinner, take another bath, sleep! Oh I think I left out prayer!

And if you have kids under ten(not in all cases), helping them take a bath and getting ready for school and bed.
 And making sure they are fed. On weekends its a whole new plan which may include more or less activities. 
Can we think of not hurting our spouses or keeping them happy throughout all these activities?

Can we not use the fact that we know he/she is never going to leave to take our spouses for granted?

Do you think your spouse would say you take him/her for granted... or that you cherish being together? 
I have even met some couples who have made the mistake of thinking that their spouse would never leave them since they know “God hates divorce.” They end up neglecting their spouse,
 and to their shock, find themselves alone, and full of regret.

Let me share a story with you all.A man and his wife, were living life as usual. Going through their day, watching life pass by year, after year, after year. Their marriage seemed healthy, and they loved each other to the max, but there was this one thing that drove him crazy about his wife. No matter how many decades he asked his wife to stop doing this one thing, she continued to do it, day after day, year after year. He struggled with how annoyed he felt at her. Nearly every day of their married lives, she left her slippers right there in the middle of the floor, in front of the bathroom door, for him to trip over. No amount of effort could change her habit, those slippers were there every morning, staring at him, and taunting him.

One fateful morning, he woke up and walked right past the bathroom door, and FINALLY, there were no slippers to trip him. That day, it was a slipperless doorway, free of the daily frustration that had harassed him all those years. But today he wanted nothing more in life than to trip over those silly slippers. He longed to see them there that day, because, on the day before, she had passed away. Those slippers no longer annoy him, and it crushes him every single morning.

This story made me think of all the differrent and many ways my husband annoys me or vise versa. There is a popular advertising quote from Ghana this reminds me of, ''ENJOY WHILE STOCK LASTS...'' It has become our favourite saying now. Cherish your spouse. Dont abuse the love and trust he/she has for you. Love each other like today is your first and last day together. 

Lets Reflect on  Ephesians 5:25-33

     Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband

DO IT NOW BY LIVING IT OUT:

Answer this question instantly; don’t think about it. If you just found out that you only had a few hours left with your spouse, and those hours would be spent right where you are today, what would you do first? Would you simply hold your spouse close? Tell him/her how much you love and cherish them?, Take her/him on a date?, Let the world know how amazing she is or a million other things he does? Do it today. There’s no reason not to, and there are a billion reasons to do it. 

#FIXIT

Couples for Christ (CFC)

The BIG LIE IN ROMANTIC READING challenge is still on. Read to your spouse while he/she relaxes...

This write up is powered by The Mawuli International Mission Assignment For Christ

You can do it, save that marriage.

Written by Rev Mrs Caroline Dzifa Fumey.