Marriage was created by God to be outrageously amazing.In my last post, I talked about our vision for a honeymoon marriage with a crazy strong level of oneness (and what that even means).
Marriage was designed to be a living reflection of God’s commitment to His people and is a place where we find what it means to lay down our lives for another. It’s when we’re laying our lives down for others, that we really find true life.
Marriage is an opportunity for the greatest love-story ever imagined (the story of Christ winning God’s people back to Himself in love) to be acted out and displayed for the watching world in the context of family.
When we invest in the health of our marriage, we are bringing glory to God and are attracting a world hungry to see the meaning and purpose of marriage, and the good God who ordained it.
Is it simple and easy to pursue this sort of connection and strong marriage? No. Is it totally worth the time, energy and investment? No question.
We’ve learned that we must foster our marriage connection ON PURPOSE. It doesn’t happen by itself. And in order to do this, about once a year (or more if we can manage), we get away from the noise and hustle of life. Last weekend we left the kids with our awesome sitter and took two days to explore the cuteness of St. Michael’s, MD. Just us on a get-away.
FOUR things we love about get-aways:
1 * Undivided attention: Need I say more? With work, parenting, and everything else we stuff into our schedules. undivided attention is treasured. And getting 24 or 48 hours of this sort of connection and intimacy gives us the chance to slow down and savor time with each other. To really listen to each other’s dreams, to giggle, to just “be”, to eat slowly and enjoy each other without interruption.
2 * Perspective: Getting away helps us see things more clearly. The intensity of life’s pressures fade when we slow our minds and schedules, and set apart time and space to focus on each other and to go to God together. We designate a portion of our “getaways” to asking God specific questions that apply to our season of life, our callings, our kids, and anything else that is on our hearts, then we spend time listening for Him to speak. We crave His perspective, because life can make our view cloudy at times. Every time we seek Him together, He graciously give us direction and perspective for life as we head back into the grind together.
3 * Rest: Sometimes the root of our life’s stress is exhaustion. Being able to sleep in, take naps, and physically and mentally unwind does wonders for all parts of life, especially marriage.
4 * Fun: My idea of fun is going out to eat. A lot. Getting away for a night gives us the chance to do something we both enjoy together, other than sit in traffic or push the kids in swings. Trying new things together (like the time we rode a tandem bike- holy cow), finding small towns to explore or discovering new restaurants together is fun for us and we get do to those things on our get-aways. Making fun memories and dating should never stop when you get married- it is just the beginning.
Overnight get-aways don’t have to cost much money. It could involve camping (we tried that and it was a memorable fail, but I’m sure some of you could knock it out of the park), swapping houses with a friend who agrees to watch your kids (hopefully you can return the favor), or scouting out inexpensive hotel deals. Whatever time or money you invest in getting away to refresh your marriage is worth.every.penny.
THE BOTTOM LINE: connection in marriage doesn’t happen by accident, and it must be fostered ON PURPOSE. Invest in your marriage, and there will be a sweet dividend. (can you tell my husband works in finance?)
What are your ideas or thoughts on fostering a great marriage connection?