Two Become One

During our engagement, our officiant gave us one word of advice that stuck with us: Remove the word divorce from your vocabulary. I remember he prefaced the advice by saying, “I’m going to say the word once in this sentence, but apart from giving this advice, we do not use this word in this house. That's how seriously we take this rule.” He went on to explain that in the heat of an argument, it can be so easy to throw out hurtful statements that you can't take back, and the threat of divorce should never be one of them.

As we saw in Genesis 2 yesterday, God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant. As with all of his plans, this one is for our good, for our protection. God wants us to experience deep, committed love without fear of abandonment. When you agree to take divorce off the table, you can trust each other completely, committing to forgive, repair, and restore your relationship when things get challenging.

This is contrary to the way the world views marriage. The movies and TV shows we watch, the stories we read in the news, and even the relationships of our friends and family members can portray marriage as conditional, dysfunctional, and ultimately disposable. However, Romans 12:2a says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We have the power to build a marriage that looks different from what society portrays — one characterized by strength and unity rather than discord and disappointment.

You have made it to the end of this seven-day plan! I hope that it has sparked meaningful conversations between you and your fiancé and alleviated some stress during this busy season of life. As you begin a life of intentionally pursuing one another, I pray that God blesses your marriage with unity, joy, laughter, and a love that grows year after year!

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