Week 8: Managing Conflict, Consecrating Ourselves

I loved chapter six out of “Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage” by Goddard. A few things that stuck out to me that I want to share with all of you are, one that “The ultimate joy is to surrender completely to God”. As I have reflected on this statement from the chapter it reminded me of a saying one of my church young woman’s leaders would say to me about how God knows us better than we know ourselves and knows exactly what we need. We just have to step aside and allow him to lead us to the best path for our life. Second was that a lot of unhappiness in marriages comes from a partner’s false expectation of how love should be displayed and shown compared to how love actually is shown.  No one can meet every single one of our needs. “We can dwell in discontent, or we can celebrate the points of connection”. I n marriage we should follow Christ’s example and “act to serve and redeem our partner…” Third, that “Consecration is a covenant that moves us from asking how we can get our needs met to asking how we can bless and serve”. Instead of looking at how the marriage could fail or what we can get out of the marriage we can focus on all the joy it could bring, and the positive aspects of the relationship. But it’s also important to remember to serve and seek how to bless our partner with out seeking reward and gain for ourselves. “When we see our challenges within marriage as customized invitations to greater goodness, we will rejoice in His (God’s) perfect purpose”. We can see marriage as training for life after our mortal life here on Earth. It prepares us for eternal salvation and life with God. One of the most important things to have in a marriage is trust in God. A marriage is between the man, woman and God. It’s a three way covenant and promise made for eternity to support, love, and fight for one another no matter what may come your way.
Here's a funny little video just reiterating the importance of patience and how marriage can work if you put the effort in. Enjoy!