Dancing Through Your Marriage

This evening, I ran across a clever, cute quote for all the single ladies:
"Dance with God, and the perfect man will cut in." 

My first reaction was "Aw, I love that!"  It sounds romantic, right?  It's the ultimate chick flick movie waiting to happen for us Christian women.  But then I got to thinking....perfect man?  Is there such a thing?  I don't know one.  But there's a man who's perfect for me, and I'm so glad God led us to each other!  My husband and I go together like peanut butter and jelly.  He's the yin to my yang.  We've been married 8 years but we've been together for 12.  We actually grew up together in church and our families vacationed together.  I can count the number of New Years Eve's that we've been apart on one hand.  Fun love story.  Very romantic......but that doesn't mean we have the perfect marriage. 

Perfect.  A word that I, personally, struggle with.  It's something I try to achieve in all areas of my life- including my marriage!  Then I get to that breaking point when I realize that it's not possible to reach perfection.....or is it?  (I went to the Word to see what God had to say about it, and I came across this helpful article if you're interested:  http://www.centervilleroad.com/articles/perfect.html)

But let's get back to the issue at hand: the truth about marriage.  It boils down to this:  Keep God first.  Love your Heavenly Father first.  Spend time with Him first.  Get to know Him first.  Dance with Him first.

I've learned this truth the hard way, and I've had to learn it over and over again.  You see, I tend to put my husband (and all earthly relationships) first.  I put off my time with God.  I have kids that need me 24/7/365.  When they're sleeping, I keep myself plenty busy or I give myself a break and zone out.  But what would happen if I got up 15 minutes earlier than my kids to read a Psalm and then start my day with a prayer?  What would happen if I turned on Pandora Praise & Worship instead of Good Morning America?  (For those of you with a daily commute- what would happen if you silenced your radio for 5 minutes to chat with God?  What would happen if you open your Bible App to read the Verse of the Day BEFORE opening your FB or Pinterest?)  Well, I've tried all those things.  And I can tell you that it does WONDERS.  What a Wonderful Counselor we have.  How often do you seek Him? 

So as this truth is something seemingly simple that can help you in all areas of life, it's also the truth about MARRIAGE.  Before we can dance with each other, we must dance with God.  If we rely on our spouse to "make us happy" then we're setting them up for failure.  Just as they will never be the perfect spouse, neither will you.  Learn to give each other grace.....by meditating on God's grace for us.  Practice loving each other as God so loved this world....that He sacrificed His Son.  When I searched the word "perfect" in the Bible, can you guess what I found?  One theme:  LOVE.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  (Col. 3:13-15 NIV)

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.  We love each other because he loved us first. (1 John 4:17-19 NLT)

I can't leave out this one from Song of Songs (aka Love Poems)
Sixty queens there may be,
    and eighty concubines,
    and virgins beyond number;
but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
    the only daughter of her mother,
    the favorite of the one who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
    the queens and concubines praised her.
(Song of Songs 6:8-9)

So allow me to alter that clever, cute quote:
"Dance with God, and let His perfect love set you free to dance with your beloved."