Marriage: Don't Waste Years

Happy Thursday! 

About 6 years ago, I sat in a car with a husband outside a hospice facility as his wife of 48 years lay inside the facility, and her death was imminent. Realizing the gravity of the moment, this husband shared a powerful statement that has stuck with me over the years: 👇🏽

His statement was as sad as it was powerful to hear this soon to be widow come to realize, many years of their marriage were wasted being angry. He did share some details, but just from that 1 sentence you hear that in the final minutes of their forty-eight years of life together, this husband was feeling regret over both what had been and what could’ve been.

No matter what season my wife and I are in, up or down, the words of regret that husband shared challenge me to lengthen good times and shorten rough times in our marriage. I just don’t want to get to the end of this marriage thing and realize time was wasted knit picking, being distant, stuck in anger about things that ultimately don’t or won’t matter…

Here’s a passage of Scripture that’s helped me personally regarding anger. It’s not a marriage passage - but it sure should be 🤣

Anger, and more importantly how we respond to it, pauses the presence of God’s righteousness in our lives. Whether we should or shouldn’t be angry - we are and we can’t be angry and produce a godly response at the same time. So from insignificant to significant reasons to be angry, seek peace in what causes anger. Oh let me edit that - seek God’s peace, in what causes anger in your marriage.

Thats’s it! I pray you have a great week in the Lord. If you know a couple that could connect with today’s newsletter - send it to ‘em.

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