God's Successful Marriage

  Key Verse “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 (KJV) When the Roles in Your Marriage Begin to Change When a husband and wife first begin building their life together, they gradually find a rhythm. Responsibilities are divided, routines become familiar, and each spouse begins to understand what the other brings to the marriage. Some of those arrangements are discussed and agreed upon, while others simply develop over time. Before long, there are things that one spouse normally handles and things that the other takes care of without either having to think much about it. For a while, that arrangement may work quite well. Then life begins to change. Children grow up and no longer need the same kind of daily attention. A husband or wife changes jobs, accepts a promotion, or finds themselve...

  When the Person You Married Begins to Change Key Verse: "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." — Colossians 3:14 There is a picture many of us carry into marriage without ever realizing it. We stand across from the person we love, make our vows, and somewhere in the back of our minds we assume that the person standing there is the person we are going to spend the rest of our life loving. Of course, we know life will change. We know we may move, change jobs, raise children, lose loved ones, grow older, and eventually trade youthful energy for reading glasses and sore knees. But we do not always stop to consider something much more personal: The person we married is going to change too. And so are we. That sounds obvious when we say it out loud, but it can become surprisingly difficult inside a marriage. The young wife who once seemed carefree may become more cautious after raising children, carrying responsibilities, or walking throug...