Memories from last weekend with Bryce. We haven’t gotten away just the two of us in quite a while. It was a wonderful time of connection and just BEING together. Such a gift and so important for our marriage. Thank you to my parents for taking care of the children and for swapping houses, so the homestead chores would still be covered and so that we would have a free place to stay. Win/win! And also thank you to Bryce’s brother and his wife for providing respite for our foster baby. No wonder we don’t get away often: so many logistics with all of the children and animals to take care of!
Regarding marriage, this passage stuck with me after I read it a few weeks ago:
Adam and Eve were given to each other only to live within the limits of a covenant: a binding relationship proceeding from God that fostered trust, care, and offspring. Limits create the conditions for relationship—they provide the guardrails to guide us to the place where we know and are known. These vows protect.
Ashley Hales in “A Spacious Life: Trading Hustle and Hurry for the Goodness of Limits”
Not many knowingly step into unfaithfulness; they more likely would fall or trip or imperceptibly slide there. Giving ourselves full freedom to do whatever we feel or want might just be the ticket to that slide. On the other hand, limits are God-given and they are a gift. Guardrails for our time and our eyes and our hearts and our emotions are the highway to marital joy and fulfillment. Our covenantal wedding vow to know and to be known by only one is a protection.
And making the space for focused time together? Oh, it’s not insignificant. We’re actively protecting those vows.
