(11.03.20—Marriage!--Proverbs 5:18-20)
My friend, may I ask you a question? Some marriages are “rutted” and rather dreary because either or both partners have yielded to the tyranny of the inevitable, “what has been will still be.” Would it be better to stay open to newness?
My friend, life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.
I’m M. Clifford Brunner?
One of the reasons that my wife and I bought a camping trailer years ago was because we wanted something that would allow us to see different places and travel different highways. Although there is a real draw to going up to the same cabin year after year, we both felt that variety, in this case, really was the spice of life. Notwithstanding, there is a level of sameness about how we recreate. The trailer is still a trailer and that doesn’t change a whole lot. In that respect, pulling a trailer is repetitive. It’s the different highways we travel that really give each trip that special flavor. We’ve traveled down gravel roads through pristine forests and along super highways that wind through miles of fields and cities. The campgrounds have been mostly national forest parks; but they have included state parks as well. Over the years we’ve camped in many different states and at almost every time of the year. When it comes to variety, pulling a travel trailer has both consistency and newness about it. And, that’s what has drawn us to it and kept us going these many years.
Here’s a story: Openness is essentially the willingness to grow, a distaste for ruts, eagerly standing on top-toe for a better view of what tomorrow brings. A man once bought a new radio, brought it home, placed it on the refrigerator, plugged it in, turned it to WSM in Nashville (home of the Grand Ole Opry), and then pulled all the knobs off! He had already tuned in all he ever wanted or expected to hear.” (Grady Nutt, in Homemade, July, 1990.)
Some marriages are “rutted” and rather dreary because either or both partners have yielded to the tyranny of the inevitable, “what has been will still be.” Stay open to newness. Stay open to change. There are some things in a marriage that may never change; like the routine of preparing and using our travel trailer. But that doesn’t mean that we always have to pull the trailer to the same park and the same site in that park. God never meant for marriage to be boring. He tells us in Scripture that we should always be “captivated” by our partner’s love (Proverbs 5:20). That means we need to find new pleasures and levels of fulfillment in the same love. Don’t pull the knobs off of your marriage. Be tuned into the exciting changes that God built into every faithful marriage.
We pray. Heavenly Father. Help us to stay open to newness in our marriage and stay open to change. We know Father that there are some things in marriage that may never change; like the routine of daily life. But that doesn’t mean that we always have to forget about any fresh new ideas or ways of doing things either. We know that You never meant for marriage to be boring. Your Word tells us that we should always be “captivated” by our partner’s love (Proverbs 5:20). Forgive us Father when we forget this and allow ourselves to fall into rutted routines and little else. Help us to find new pleasures and levels of fulfillment in the same love that You have given us and tuned into the exciting changes that You build into every faithful marriage relationship. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.