What does it mean to have a “Significant Marriage?” It means, as a couple, choosing to be and do something momentous and noteworthy…choosing to have an outstanding and remarkable impact on those it touches, an impact that changes lives. It means choosing to be extraordinary rather than settling for just ordinary. Who decides what makes an action or a person “extraordinary?” We believe God provid
es everyone the opportunity, we choose to take it or ignore it. Befriending a lonely neighbor or caring for an orphan is just as significant in His eyes as going to serve in a foreign land or becoming a famous speaker. What matters is that you are using the personality, gifts and passions He has given you, blended together in a marriage, to pursue whatever purpose and vision He has given you together! In order to have that kind of marriage, you have to nurture what is good so that you are able to give from a strong foundation. And you have to remove what is hurtful from your marriage so that, instead of being bogged down with conflict, you are free to focus your energy on fulfilling that vision. Knowing that you are in a healthy, loving place, you are free to discover how God wants to use your gifts together. Finally, you have to be intentional in creating together a plan to become all God has created you to be as individuals and as a couple. In his book, “Outlive Your Life,” Max Lucado says, “We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven but here on earth.” Max is convinced, as we have also come to understand in our own marriage, that God uses simple people to do extraordinary things! As a couple you can choose to live a comfortable life or you can choose to seek a life that offers hope, brings change, heals, encourages, empowers, teaches, comforts, and loves extravagantly. It doesn’t matter what you do….what matters is that you are faithful to follow God’s call upon your life and make the most of the gifts and opportunities that He gives you. Again, Max says, “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.” I (Mary) keep in my living room a brass plaque which reads, “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.” Once you have discovered and are committed to your purpose, God will help you “make it happen!”
This prayer from “Outlive Your Life” is our prayer for you as you explore God’s purpose for your marriage. “Loving Father, you made me, so you know very well that I am but dust. Yet you have called me into your kingdom to serve you at this specific place, at this specific time, for a very specific purpose. Despite my ordinariness, I belong to you—you are anything but ordinary! Help me pour out your grace and compassion upon others that they, too, may experience the richness of your love. Through me, my Father, show others how you can use an ordinary life to bring extraordinary blessing into the world. In Jesus name I pray, amen.”
It is possible, with the help of the One who calls you, to blend your individual gifts and passions into a common vision for your marriage and it is our desire to help you do so, to help you create The Significant Marriage!®
