The two ‘C’ words that stuck out to me this week in the readings were the words “compromise” and “consecrate.” Gottman says, “Like it or not, compromise is the only way to solve marital problems.” I love how Gottman mentioned that, “Every marriage is a union of individuals who bring to it their own opinions, personality quirks, and values.” I didn’t realize how true this phrase was until I married my sweetheart almost 3 years ago. This is a silly example, but I’ll give you a little background. My husband grew up in a family of six boys. His family loves Star Wars. They are complete fans and you can imagine the excitement when a new Star Wars movie comes out. Every year on May the 4th, they throw a huge Star Wars party showcases all of their Star Wars collectibles and playing all of the movies. Growing up, I never watched, not even a minute, of the Star Wars movies. Marrying my husband has had some compromises. Even though I don’t enjoy watching hours of Star Wars, I know that he does and I do it because my husband loves it. We compromise and I have learned to love our differences in hobbies and likes. Our marriage is not perfect, but despite our differences, we have learned a way to deal with unmovable problems and we’ve learned to approach them with a sense of humor.
Next, is the word ‘consecration.’ Goddard states that, “The law of consecration is foreign to the natural man.” He then goes on to say, “Those who know God have experimented with His ways know otherwise. They know that the more they turn their lives over to God, the better their lives become. We turn everything over to Him and life gets inexpressibly good.” I love those quotes! Marriage indeed does provide glorious opportunities to practice consecration. When I think of someone who sacrificed and had a consecrated marriage, I think of my paternal grandparents. They had 8 children together and after their eighth child was born, my grandma developed multiple sclerosis. She was confined to a bed and was unable to perform her day to day duties as a mother. I can only imagine how difficult this time must have been for the family. My grandpa never stopped serving her. He loved her. He consecrated his time, talents, weaknesses, and life to helping her. My grandpa was called on to make a thousand sacrifices that blessed his dear wife. I am so grateful for the example of my grandparents for not giving up when times were tough. My grandma passed away a few years later, but I know that because they consecrated their marriage and sacrificed for one another, their posterity has been truly blessed.
Now I think, “What sacrifices are we willing to bring to the altar of our relationships? Have we set aside minor complaints and given our whole hearts to our spouse? Those are some questions to ponder, reflect on, and improve in. I know that by compromising and consecrating, that our lives will be blessed beyond measure.
No comments