Inviting God Into the Broken Places of Your Marriage
You can rebuild intimacy and trust after emotional distance or past wounds. Consistency is key. It's like cherishing a valuable vase. The vase is fragile requiring protection and special care to keep it beautiful. But if or when you become careless, the vase can easily fall, break, or become damaged. And while repair may not be easy, it is possible.
So how do you overcome brokenness in your marriage? By making common Christian spiritual disiciplines a part of your life and marriage. I know from experience how prayer, meditation, scripture study, commitment and grace turns brokenness into blessing.
In my book, Our Blended Family, God revealed lessons for marital success, I shared how to keep joy alive amid stress, parenting, and busy schedules. It is our personal story of faith, healing, and togetherness.
Seeking God's strength and guidance allow God to heal your brokenness. As you heal, you can better overcome resentment and even learn to forgive through practicing your faith, even when the pain feels fresh. You experience true forgiveness the moment you choose to release bitterness and rebuild trust.
Repairing from hurt or brokenness takes time, patience, and a whole lot of grace. I know this because I’ve lived it. But God, in His mercy, took the broken pieces of my past and began crafting something new, a story of healing, hope, and second chances.
CovenantStrong.org.
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” — Colossians 3:15
Love and blessings, j&c
Does passion sustain itself alone?
I hope you missed me delivering my weekly blog. I was without my laptop mid-March and just decided it was too much to update this blog via phone (I’m still very old school). But I’m back. I'm excited about April blogs. We have a lot of good things to share. Let’s start this off talking a little more about passion in marriage. To have passion, chemistry must exist, right? Wrong.
Chemistry is magnetic. It pulls you in without effort. But what many couples eventually discover is that while chemistry is instant, presence, connection, and partnership is built over time. Partnership steadies love. This kind of steady love is lasting because it’s achieved through time spent building something special together. This kind of love includes patience with each other’s differences and most importantly, being fully present in the process. One of the things you will appreciate most about intentional presence is how passion matures as a result of it. Yes, passion.
While James and I had the natural passion that exists with good chemistry, we also experienced the deep passion that grows, lasts, and isn’t always rushed, but expected to be savored over a lifetime. A relationship full of passion is one of the greatest benefits of marriage. While sex is not the only consideration when you have a passionate relationship, your intimacy is so much better when you can guiltlessly satisfy the burn Paul talks about in I Corinthians 7.9 within covenant marriage. Real talk couples, really think about this. As your marriage becomes stronger, your love and passion become stronger as well. Imagine how great your passion is as you grow together over the years. Nothing we have sustains itself so don’t be confused about your role in the process. Every area of your marriage requires being intentional.
Reflection:
Work on a shared goal this week then pause and celebrate it together, fully present, with time, and permission to passionately show up for one another.
Also ask yourself: Are we giving your love time to grow or expecting it to sustain itself?
Prayer:
God, help us build a partnership rooted in patience and presence, where our love and passion can grow over time. Amen.
Prayer Between Spouses is Powerful
Real talk family. Many couples say they believe in prayer. However, few actually pray together consistently. Not because they don’t want to but because it can feel unfamiliar, vulnerable or even awkward.
Do you pray together as a couple?
Prayer between spouses is powerful. When couples pray together, something shifts. It becomes harder to stay resentful or distant. It becomes hard to see one another as opponents. When you pray together, you lower your defenses. It ensures God is a part of your marriage. Prayer invites God into your lives, everyday, whether in the midst of happy times or struggles. Additionally, you remind each other that you are on the same team. Even a simple, “Lord, help us today,” creates spiritual alignment because prayer isn’t about eloquence. It not about length or wordiness or about perfection. Praying together is simply about unity.
James and I have had seasons where our prayers were long and intentional, and seasons where they were short and whispered. Both mattered. The strength wasn’t in the wording. It was in the willingness.
Prayer turns two individuals into one unit again. If praying together feels uncomfortable, start small. Hold hands and pray one sentence each. Simplicity builds confidence. Lord, teach us to come before You together. Remove hesitation and replace it with unity. Strengthen our marriage as we seek