Funny how things tie in. Humility. Emphasized in the NPM's lesson (Part 3) I listened to today is the idea that great marriages are built on humility.
When I was first listening to this lesson, I had no idea what direction it was going to take. It was about marriage and the relationship between a man and wife. It touched on the idea of mutual submission, the act of deferring to each other's happiness. Andy Stanley said it is the MOST powerful relationship dynamic. I can see that. It's so funny how things are obvious but you cannot see them without someone putting it right in front of your face.
Lately my husband and I have been working on each other's love language. Amazingly enough, it works. I have been making up beds, vacuuming, and tidying things I would never have before because my husband's language is acts of service. Guess what. He feels loved. This is remarkable to me because those things would do nothing for my love tank. At all. (Ranking my LL, I scored the lowest on acts of service!) He has also been doing things for me in my language: love notes, massages, spending time. It works. But still there is something missing. I cannot quite feel close enough to him. Enter today's sermon.
Like I said, I had no idea what would be the key to a successful marriage according to Andy, but it turns out to be praying out loud, together, on a regular basis. The stats he spits out on divorce rates of couples that pray together were almost nothing. Something like 1 in 10,000 couples. Any time I have thought about praying with my husband before, I shoved it out of my head. SCARY! I don't pray aloud. Not even in my car alone with God. What if I say something stupid? How can I be that vulnerable in front of him? Spiritual vulnerability is an expression of intimacy. Can we be willing to push through the discomfort and bear our soul in front of our partner to God? Praying out loud demonstrates a connection to God. Mutually submit to God, and then each other.
WOW. Seems like if I can practice humility with my partner, then perhaps I can do it with others. Mutual Submission. Humility. Forgiveness. Amen.
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