Marriage Confession

For the past several days, 

Holy Spirit has been reminding me of just how hard the enemy works 

at destroying marriages.

Because Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom 

and us His Bride, 

Satan absolutely despises good marriages 

and will make all attempts to destroy them.

As I was thinking about all of the great (and valid) 

advice I could give for cultivating a healthy marriage, 

the Lord had me reflect upon the past twenty two years of 

my own marriage.

As I thought about how a good marriage must be both partners

 giving one hundred percent, 

one hundred percent of the time, 

the Lord brought to mind 

many of the sacrifices 

my dear husband has made on my behalf.

The things Holy Spirit brought to mind 

were things that I had not ever before thought of as

 “true sacrifices” but rather as “duty”.

As I pondered each thing God showed to me,

 I really listened 

as He revealed to me why 

the hubs sacrificed those things.

In each of the things He showed me, 

the deciding factor in my husband 

changing his mind,

 moving onto something else, 

giving up a particular pursuit, 

dream or friendship was

 – GULP – 

my own fear and selfishness

 – EEK!

Never once

 has my husband thrown those things in my face

 nor given into the temptation to resent or begrudge me.

No.

My wonderfully loving husband 

has sacrificed so much on my behalf 

simply and miraculously because he loves me!

He loves me with the sacrificing love of Christ.

It is so very humbling and yet truly phenomenal.

And so, in return, 

I have determined that from this day forward,

 as he has done for me, 

I will actively demonstrate my love for him 

by looking to satisfy his needs 

while putting off my own selfish whims.

Because truly, 

this is the greatest secret

 to a happy and successful marriage!