My husband and I spent last week with a dear couple who has been married for almost fifty years. I was riveted by their interaction. How did they keep their love so alive and vibrant through the changing seasons of life, a forty-seven year pastorate, and the loss of a child?
The answer was sprinkled throughout the conversation over the week. They had made a commitment to stay married and devoted to one another from the beginning. They focused on the really important things in life, rather than stressing over the small things. They trusted God to work in the other person’s life to bring about necessary change.
And two of the most important things? She fixes him steel cut oatmeal for breakfast every morning. Now, if you’re like me, you’ve never heard about steel cut oatmeal, and probably don’t know what’s so special about it. Well, it’s not the one-minute or the five-minute version of oatmeal. Nope . . . it takes a full thirty minutes to cook! And when you put raisins and brown sugar in it, it’s a delicacy straight from heaven.
As she was talking, I thought about how much my hubby loves breakfast, how he absolutely adores oatmeal . . . and how I had gotten out of the habit of fixing breakfast for him. I know breakfast isn’t technically a love language–but for him it is!
So when we got back in town, I located a grocery store that sold steel cut oatmeal, made sure we had plenty of brown sugar and raisins, and set the alarm clock back thirty minutes so I’d have plenty of time to fix his oatmeal before leaving for work. I even threw in toast and coffee for good measure. Needless to say, he was beaming from ear to ear that morning!
It’s easy to become complacent about doing things that keep our marriages alive and vibrant. Are there things you need to reclaim in order to bring new life back to your marriage? And is there a couple who has been especially meaningful to you as mentors? If so, thank God for them today . . . and be that couple for someone else!
Oh! And the second thing that has been so meaningful in their marriage? Every evening when he returns from the church office after a long day, she meets him at the door with a smile and a kiss . . . Gotta go, I think I hear my hubby pulling into the garage!
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