Forgiveness in marriage by Elizabeth Johnson
Forgiveness in marriage. Where do I begin? The bible school answer is to say, “I should forgive my spouse because Christ has already forgiven him.”
That is easier said than done.
Continue reading Forgiveness in Marriage
Suzy and Tommy and Billy and Mary were good friends and both couples had their wedding dates set on the calendar for the same year. However, Billy and Mary’s big day was several months after Suzy and Tommy’s. The couples enjoyed double dating and dreaming about their futures together as Mr. and Mrs. As they chatted over dinner, the ladies would practice writing their soon to be last names on the napkins as they dreamily discussed everything from how many kids they wanted down to what kind of dishwashing soap was their favorite. Likewise, the guys would talk shop, the garage, and future tool purchases. Suzy and Tommy’s wedding was first and it was beautiful. A fairytale wedding for sure. After the couple settled into a home and married life, the couples continued to get together, but the conversations were much different. Billy and Mary were still gooshy excited for their up and coming wedding date, but they quickly noticed that the conversations with their friends about a dreamy future were no more. What happened? Why this sudden change?
Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”
Song of Solomon 2:15
Here in the Song of Solomon the bride to be is saying to her soon to be husband to catch the little foxes for us. Catch them before they destroy the vineyard.
These small animals could absolutely destroy a large vineyard. The vineyard in verse 15 represents their growing relationship. A blossoming vineyard relationship. So she says to her man, catch them before they destroy us.
This is just as important today as the day it was penned. Little foxes are the small problems that sneak into the relationship/vineyard and destroy it.
No one sets out to destroy one’s marriage! Nobody plans to sabotage marital bliss and couples never imagined on their wedding day that their undying love would one day come to a devastating and painful end! While couples don’t plan to one day divorce, sadly, we also often don’t plan to do what it takes to grow our marriage. Think of the next series of posts as my attempt to help us all think and plan and put in some effort to keep ourselves from sabotaging the most important human relationship you and I will ever have on this earth.
Continue reading Marriage Builder (Creation-Redemption-Eternity)
As I prepare for “A Day Away Marriage Retreat” this weekend, I find myself reading various books and articles on marriage. Below is not an attempt to write out a fully orbed blog post. Rather, here are some quick thoughts and bullet points to get us thinking a little about our marriages.
Pictured above is the Paris – “Love Bridge”. While I have walked this bridge with my wife, we never “locked” in our love. The bridge is actually called the Pont des Arts. Pictures do not do it justice! The 
bridge is famous due to the endless padlocks placed there by lovers. Lock in your love and then throw the keys into the Seine river. Romantic right? And, in Paris no less!
The problem is that the guardrail of the bridge was not designed to hold all that extra weight. The government and local Parisians have been asking tourists to stop locking in their love. It is ruining their bridge! The “Love Bridge” is collapsing under the weight of…. “Love”.