Tender Mercies and the Marriage Triangle

My husband travels quite a bit for work, which isn't ALL bad. Sometimes, when he goes somewhere within driving distance (a few hours), the kids and I get to tag along. He's told me before that he doesn't think it would really be vacation for me, and I always respond with, "I don't have to cook or clean, it's a vacation!" True, hotel rooms aren't always the most ideal space to spend a week with kids, but like I said, no cooking, no cleaning. You get me.

The downside of him traveling so much is that I'm on my own with the kids. (Just a side-note: I know that there are many of you out there who are single moms, and have to do it all yourself ALL the time, and there are also those of you whose husbands are gone for much much longer, like my sister, whose husband is deployed for 9 months I think it is? Yes, that is much harder. These few weeks at a time help me see a little of what you go through all the time.) The hardest part for me is bedtime and getting to church. Let's just say, we can barely handle them when he IS in town. Anyway, so he's out of town, and I honestly wasn't planning to bring the kids to church by myself. I haven't done it yet and felt like they were still so young and rowdy they would just be really disruptive. Maybe we could have a little lesson at home or something. That was the plan until I woke up at 12:41 and could not get back to sleep. Silence is a rare thing around here, so I took the opportunity to pray a little. I was able to focus my thoughts and think clearly, and decided that I really SHOULD bring the kids to church, or at least try my best to get there. Even if we were late, or didn't stay the whole time, it would be worth going.

Long story short, we made it (only 5 minutes late!) and the kids have never behaved so WELL! There were no tears while getting dressed and out the door, and at church, they were quiet and never once tried to get away from me! It was nothing short of a miracle! SERIOUSLY. Someone was watching out for us today, and making my life a LOT easier. I'm so glad I went, because as an added bonus, it turned out that one of my favorite couples were speaking today. They both spoke of when they were dating, and the husband spoke so highly of his wife and how she has always been the one to lift him spiritually. He also reminded us of the marriage triangle, which was a concept I had learned before, but needed to be reminded of again.

The idea is that marriage is a partnership between husband and wife AND God. If any of the three are lacking, it will be out of balance. Also, the closer the husband and wife draw to God, the closer they are to each other. It was a good reminder that every couple goes through hard times, but if we take that opportunity to seek help from God, we can strengthen our relationships rather than let them fall apart. Great relationships don't happen without effort on our part, and of course, is well worth it.

Even great relationships need attention.What are some things that you do to strengthen your relationship with your spouse?