“Not-so-newlyweds” know the pain of love… the joy of love… and what it means to choose love daily. If you find yourself in this category, the memories of your early days of marriage might be fading.
You’ve told your husband to put his sock in the hamper (not next to it!) more recently than you’ve told him how much he means to you. Or you’ve asked your wife how she didn’t notice how low the gas tank was in her car before she hopped in to run an errand more recently than you’ve said how beautiful she is.
Marriages change throughout the years, but be mindful not to let your marriage drift. Though your youthful years are behind you, you and your spouse will have wonderful days ahead if you intentionally choose love.
Please pray with me over our spouses and marriage:
Father, Praise You for the intricate way Your creation permeates our lives. One glance at the rippled water or cotton-streaked skyline reveals the presence of the wind. When it moves, things move… branches sway, leaves blow, tides shift position, clouds glide along the skyline. The wind itself is invisible, but it’s movement and change are clearly visible. Sometimes the wind is destructive, and the change is tragic. Other times the breeze is light, ushering in refreshing changes. Still others it goes unnoticed as we travel through our daily routine.
Thank You for the wind. For the way it beckons us to pay attention to it as hair blows into our eyes, and it’s refreshing breathe as it passes through our windows. Marriage is much like the wind.
Praise You for marriage, and the perfect timing in which You have brought our spouses into our lives. Over time, love can begin to pass by us. Some moments are refreshing, while other moments are scarring and destructive. It’s hardly ever what we sign up for, and even harder than we thought it would be. Thank You for the trials of marriage that usher in the bond of staying… sticking… and picking up the pieces. Thank You for the refreshing bouts of laughter, celebrations, and mountaintop moments that move our hearts to choose love over and over again. Thank You for capturing our hearts first, so that we can truly understand how to be happy.
We confess taking marriage for granted. Over the years and seasons of life, that’s an easy thing to accomplish. Much harder is the continuing grace of getting to know our spouse, recognizing their growth, and realizing they are Yours first. Forgive us for neglecting to spend time in Your Word, seeking to grow and know You better. For it is only in getting to know You more that we unlock our own mysterious hearts and learn to be better husbands and wives. Forgive us for relying on our spouses to fill our hearts to capacity with happiness, for that was never their job. You alone will satisfy.
Bless our marriages this Valentine’s Day. Guide us towards getting to know what is meaningful to our spouse by seeking You first each day for guidance. Help us to treat each other as if we’ve just met, each day. Every day, we learn something new, have a new experience, and witness the wind differently. Bless our hearts to be sensitive to the breeze blowing by us everyday. Help us to grow in faithfulness individually, so that we may come together as two people aimed at knowing You more, and not looking for completion from each other. Valentine’s Day, like all of the other days, can become just another calendar block blowing by… unless we choose to see it differently.
Bless our hearts to notice the change in the wind, not just over the years, but over minutes and days. Help us to see You in everything and everyone. Allow us to feel Your presence by the power of the Holy Spirit. Teach us to love as Your Son Jesus loved. So deep was His love, that He died for us. Before we could believe, before we wanted to believe, He loved. Bless us to grow in an attitude of Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read More: Valentine's Day Prayers
Megs is a stay-at-home mom and blogger at http://sunnyand80.org, where she writes about everyday life within the love of Christ.
Photo courtesy: GettyImages: Com Stock Images
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