Matthew 19:6 – So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” (HCSB)

I was recently with a group of women of various wedding anniversaries. One just celebrated 15; I will soon celebrate 39. Over coffee and sodas, we started discussing our ages when we walked so boldly and confidently down the aisle. Our ages varied, but we all had one thing in common – each one was so naive while thinking she was so mature. Each bride and groom had looked at each other with starry eyes and said, “I do” without a single doubt of the bright and blissful future to come. Today we just laugh at those two foolish people!  That man at whom we looked with such awe is not so awesome when we’re picking up his dirty socks. He sometimes says the wrong thing (or nothing at all). He sometimes misses our hints (even though our clues were so obvious). He sometimes has bad breath (and other body odors). There are times when that radiant bride of the wedding day isn’t such a ray of sunshine either! Ephesians 5:33 tells husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands.  When we get married we fully intend to unconditionally love, respect and admire each other. I know I had great intentions of being the perfect wife, offering nothing but kind and encouraging words, perfectly prepared dinners every night, and a life of candlelit romance.  But, life sets in with all of its time devouring stresses.  Sometimes my words are less than kind and not at all encouraging. There are times when my husband just needs to count his blessings that he got dinner at all, even if it is just leftovers!  Often times the candlelight is just a sign that the electricity is out.  Why do we put up with each other when the adventurous future becomes the routine present?  The Bible is very clear that marriage is a divinely established covenant. When asked about marriage, You said “Haven’t you read the scriptures?” (Matthew 19:4)  A covenant means that one person holds up their end of the promise even when the other person falls short.  A marriage covenant is sealed with “as long as we both shall live”, not “as long as we like each other everyday.” A covenant tells us to walk away from the mix-up, not the marriage. The Bible teaches us that You, Lord, unite us together to become one flesh (Matthew 19:6).  You came up with the idea of marriage (Genesis 2:18), and Proverbs 18:22 says that a man who finds a wife finds a good thing. Lord, help me to see my marriage as a gift from You.  Help me to be a “good thing” for my husband. To paraphrase Song of Solomon 2:16, my husband is mine and I am his, dirty socks, leftovers, and all!