Someone once said, “Marriage is not so much FINDING the right person as BEING the right person.” That’s a timely word in a culture that views both marriage and careers as some magical romantic fantasy where the person or occupation perfectly fits your every trait, satisfies your every desire, and renders you blissfully happy forever after. We raise our kids to expect fairy tale endings, though fairy tales never happen. Marriage is HARD WORK. ALWAYS. And FAMILY is even harder work.
Remember the way Abraham’s servant found Isaac’s wife Rebekah? By finding a woman who would water his camels without him asking?
The same thing happened a generation later. When Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekah, was looking for a wife for himself, he met the shepherdess Rachel and immediately watered her entire flock of goats.
“As soon as Jacob saw Laban’s daughter Rachel with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone from the opening of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly” Genesis 29:10-11.
Again—HARD WORK. You could say ‘well, sure, but he’s trying to impress Rachel.’ But later Jacob met her father Laban and offered, “I’ll work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel” 29:18. Seven years is a LONG time. Say what you will about Jacob, he was a hard worker—and a patient man.
When it comes to marriage, it is not so much FINDING the right person as BEING the right person. Be a HARD WORKER. Forget “self-care.” How about a bit of self-analysis? Examine yourself, your habits, your integrity. Do you possess traits that will bless a family for decades? Are you the sort of person you would want your child to marry? Do you love Jesus more than anything else? Can you endure when things become difficult? Or dull? Do you have the backbone to endure anything that comes your way? Are you selfless and servant-hearted?
If not, step up your game.
ΑΩ
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