A Marriage Transformed

1 Corinthians 13

 ¹ If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.


 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.



Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Next week is our anniversary. We will be married for fourteen years. I can't believe how the time has passed. I feel emotional today. I can't stop thinking about my husband. We have been through so much together. We have actually been together for twenty years. We were high school sweethearts.



Mike and me at senior prom



I'm sure many of you will probably think this particular post is very mushy but I feel the Lord prompting me to tell you about our marriage. I am absolutely more in love with my husband now than I ever have been. I just can't believe how much I love him. And I know that he feels the same way about me. He makes me feel special and beautiful (on the outside and on the inside.)  Without a doubt I believe that we were created for each other. Remember that line from Jerry Maguire "You complete me."? That's how I feel about him. I love him. I need him. I want him. I feel so blessed by the Lord to have such a happy marriage.



Our marriage hasn't always been so blissful. I am serious when I tell you that we have had some really rough times. We've had times when I've questioned him, myself and our love for each other. There have even been times when I've questioned God. We've faced a real "Am I going to die?" health crisis. We have also both made our fair share of mistakes. We've said and done things that can't be taken back. I can remember several occasions when I've sobbed myself to sleep, worrying about what the future really held. I'm sure you must be wondering how we got from there to here.



our wedding day



Well, first I must tell you that we were not Christians when we married. We weren't bad people, we just were clueless and hadn't been exposed much to the things of Christ. When I was saved, our marriage suffered. Mike didn't understand my new outlook on life. We argued frequently during this time. Mike then was saved several months later. We were baptised together a couple years after that. Our marriage still wasn't perfect. We were young Christians and we were attacked by Satan. I truly feel like our marriage was under attack. Things really spiraled out of control as we continued to make some bad choices. It was a very difficult time in our lives that I would love to forget forever.

We humbly sought the Lord and gradually started to get back on track. We had a long way to go but we were trying. Then we got to the point where our marriage and our life was just very routine and monotonous. I just assumed that when you've been married for almost ten years, your marriage just becomes a bit blah. I expected our marriage to continue to be this way for . . well, maybe forever.

And then I had a great idea. I started praying for our marriage. I prayed for all aspects of our marriage: our love, our sexual intimacy, our walk together in the Lord, our communication, our affection, etc. I also started praying specifically for Mike in all areas of his life: his work, his reputation, his walk with the Lord, being a Godly leader of our family, his temptations, etc. I got this idea after reading The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. It is a great book and I honestly believe that it was the first step in the complete transformation of our marriage. I highly recommend this book to all women who want an absolutely wonderful marriage. Our marriage didn't change overnight. I have been praying in this way for our marriage and for Mike for probably four or five years now. And like I said earlier, the changes were very gradual. It wasn't until just yesterday that I really thought about our marriage and I thought, "We're there! This is what I wanted for our marriage."



Mike and me November 2011

 I'm not saying that we don't still have our issues. We certainly do. We still have an occasional argument. We will always have different opinions about some things. There are no two people in this world that will always agree on everything. He still annoys me sometimes and I know that I can get on his nerves. (Just between you and me, sometimes I try to annoy him just a little bit . . . you know, just for fun.) But we really love each other beyond what I thought was possible after fourteen years of marriage. And you know what else? I think he is sexy. In my opinion, there is nothing sexier than my husband being a Godly man and leader of our family, seeking the Lord with all of his heart and being a Godly role model for our son. That is what really does it for me.

Well, hopefully I didn't lose any of you in all of the mushy details. Please know that my God is absolutely capable of anything. If you ask in faith and continue to pray regularly, He will answer you. The answer may not always come in the form that you expect, but it will come. Be patient, have faith and be faithful to Our Heavenly Father.

Now. . . I'm patiently waiting for God to start his transformation in our son so that he will actually do what we ask him to do the first time we ask instead of the fifth time. . .
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Salvation

Before I go any further, I need to share how I came to know Jesus. It is a long story, so stay with me.

My husband, Mike, and I had been married a few years when we decided we wanted to add a child to our family. We were not Christians at the time and neither of had really been exposed much to the things of Christ. We did not attend church. We were spiritually clueless. We had no idea what we were missing and we really didn't give it much thought. Anyway, we tried to conceive for a couple of years without success. We sought medical attention with a fertility specialist. We underwent multiple rounds of various invasive testing. I took fertility pills a couple of months with no response. I then started taking fertility shots twice a day. I had ultrasounds every other day to monitor the progress. Finally, the third month I took these injections, we conceived a child. We were ecstatic.

This is me very pregnant.

My pregnancy proceeded well. However, I had an unsettling feeling. I felt like we needed to start going to church. I didn't really know why I had this overwhelming desire. I think it had something to do with raising our child in a church because it was "the right thing to do." We tried a few churches and finally found one that was right for us. We continued to be unsaved. We attended worship services about every other Sunday. Our baby, Ryan, was born. He was precious and we loved him more than we could ever imagine.

Mike and Ryan

Me and Ryan

We continued to attend church about every 2 -3 weeks. Pastor Greg gave wonderful sermons each Sunday. About one year after we started going to church, I can remember being at home one day when I just felt like I wasn't living right. I had always tried to be a good person and do what was right. I felt the Lord calling me to Him. That day in my home, I accepted Jesus. I asked him to come into my life and take control. I acknowledged that He sacrificed His life for my sins so that I could be with the Lord and spend eternity with Him in heaven. He paid my ransom and rose again. He lives today, within me and all of those who believe in Him.

At first, my salvation wreaked havoc on my life and in my marriage. Mike couldn't understand why I was different. Many arguments and a lot of tears resulted. Mike then came to know Jesus and accept Him. Everything got a little easier after that. We still have trials and hardships, but we have Jesus there to help us through them. We are far from perfect. Jesus died for us so that we could be perfect through Him. Think of it this way. You come before God on your judgement day. He will only accept those who are perfect into heaven. The Lord asks you, "Are you perfect?" You stand behind Jesus and say, "No but Jesus is perfect and he has me covered."

Jesus paid my ransom and He paid your ransom, too. He's just waiting for you to ask Him into your life. Imagine what He can accomplish in you and your life if you let him! Matthew 6:33 reads "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Are you seeking Him?
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