Christian Writers Circle

Power to Persevere
In Marriage, In Life

by Brenda D. Flowers

Ephesians 5: 31-32 (NIV)  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

     My husband, Eric, and I recently attended the wedding of two dear young people who attend our church. We felt honored to be invited to witness their wedding since they had to limit the amount of people who attended.

    From the beginning of the ceremony until the end of the evening, we noticed the intentionality of each part of the service and the celebration.

     I was especially touched when the bride and groom read their handwritten vows to each other before saying the traditional vows. Each one spoke about how God had answered his or her prayers in finding each other.

“I prayed for you,” the bride exclaimed.

Another beautiful part of the ceremony was when they invited their family to circle around them to pray blessings over their marriage. The song, “Bless the Lord Oh My Soul” was sung in unison at the close of their prayers.

The delicious marriage supper, beautiful decorations honoring the Lord, and the orchestrated celebratory activities made the evening extra special!

The groom’s dad covered the evening in prayer and in his prayer he mentioned the hope that everyone there would experience God’s anointing and glean from each other’s fellowship. He encouraged us to honor the couples who had been married a long time.

One of the events to highlight this was a dance to reveal which married couple in attendance had been married the longest.

Eric and I, along with several other couples, were called to the dance floor to dance a slow dance. We were told to keep dancing until we heard the number of years we had been married. 

“Who has been married 1 hour or less (the newlyweds left the dance floor), 1 month or less, 1 year or less, 10 years or less, 20 years or less, 30 years or less. 40 years or less, 45 years or less?”

One other couple was still on the dance floor with us. It turned out they have been married 41 years. Eric and I won the prize as we have been married 43 years.

Our prize was the opportunity to share advice on how we have stayed married for so long. (Many of the young people there were awed by the longevity of our marriage.)

Eric and I were blessed to be given this opportunity to share. We knew there were probably people listening who truly wanted or needed to hear our counsel. We shared spontaneously and from our hearts.

I am glad I acknowledged God’s help, but to be honest if I could go back in time to those moments when we shared, I would give all the glory for our perseverance in marriage to God. He has helped us keep our vows.

Perseverance is defined as “the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult.” (merriam-webster.com)

Let’s be real. To keep our marriage vows for 43 years, it has taken more than our own strength and will. God has provided the power to persevere by His Spirit at work in us.

God designed marriage for great purpose to illustrate the uniting of two into one. This transformation happens over time as each person goes through the tests of life and learns to fully submit to God first and to each other. A successful Christian marriage illustrates the promise that God will complete what He has begun in all of us who trust Him.

Attending this wedding has had a great impact on me as I have been motivated to search God’s counsel on the topic of perseverance.