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Rings…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  

For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ

is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.  

Now as the church submits to Christ,

so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and

gave himself up for her,  

that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,  

so that he might present the church to himself in splendor,

without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.

He who loves his wife loves himself.  

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,

just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and

hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”  
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself,

and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 6:21-33

Learning to submit, love, respect and forgive each other

This week, the 21st, we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary.  I’m just grateful that GOD has been gracious to us despite our failures to “measure up” to these standards for marriage.

For my part, I have not submitted to my husband in the way the church is supposed to submit to Christ.  Nor have we submitted to each other out of reverence for Christ.  He hasn’t loved me as he should either…and on and on as you read through the chapter.

It is an indictment of my failures as a wife…but GOD has been merciful to us.  He has joined us together as one in many areas, by His grace.

I thought that by the time I was married this long, I would have all the answers about marriage.  Instead, I have less answers.  I do realize the most important thing is learning to forgive…as Christ forgave us.

In the process, we have learned about the grace of GOD, forgiveness, perseverance, grief, sorrow, joy, love, humor.  It has been wonderful, difficult, crazy, passionate, amazing…and on occasion even romantic!  The journey has been a great one of learning and growing together.  I can only hope for more years together…but if not, what we have had has been a wonderful gift!