Marriage and the “D” Word

Ruth 1:16-17 (NIV) But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

This passage I can vividly remember from our wedding 13 years ago.  The day flew by, but that scripture has been carried throughout our years of marriage.  I can still remember standing in front of my “to be husband” reciting these words to each other.  I was so nervous.

There have been ups and downs just like any marriage.  I will not sit back and act like our past 13 years have been a bed of roses, what good would that do?  We live in a fallen world and my husband and I are two broken people.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Because, I believe we are still together today only because of God, our covenant we made with Him and to each other that day 13 years ago.  During our pre-marriage discipleship we learned a lot about each other and drew a boundary in our marriage that the “d” word was never to be spoken, because divorce is not an option for us.  This was something we committed and declared to God, our family, and friends on that hot summer day.

Draw that line in your marriage too!  Declare it for you, your spouse, your family and your future generations.  You can start today!  Go, get your spouse, sit down, and pray: Lord, thank you for this marriage, thank you for creating us for each other.  Please enter this moment as we declare a covenant with you to each other.

Now look each other in the eyes and repeat this, speaking from the heart and declaring it:

“Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from you.  Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.”  In the name of Jesus, Amen!”

If you are not married, declare this to your Heavenly Father as He is your husband until you get married.