“May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” (Ruth 1:9 NIV)
I was deep in sermon prep for yesterday’s message on Ruth when David Guzik pointed it out plainly: Ruth referred to her marriage as a place of rest. What a wonderful thought and what a lucky woman! Certainly not all marriages could be described as restful. It’s interesting; while Elimelich and Naomi may have struggled with external pressures like drought and relocation, but internally, they were well-fortified.
Even after had Elimilech passed on, Naomi still viewed her marriage tenderly. She believed her husband to be a blessing, not a burden. And she hoped her in-lawed daughters would experience the same level of rest in their next unions.
Honestly, in my own marriage, I have experienced both tension and rest. Rob and I married so young: nearly 19 and 20. We were just a couple kids committing to grow up together. And we did, but our youthfulness left us a little lopsided and quite a bit co-dependent. It took some trauma at the twenty year mark to wake us up to our dysfunction and force us to reanalyze our roles. Four years later, we can call our marriage a place of rest. Our home is finally a happy haven away from the stresses and pressures of the outside world. We have, at last, achieved the Garden for Two we had promised each other at an altar all those years ago.
Friends, be encouraged. A restful marriage is worth the exertion. Your union is deserving of the focus, effort and prayers you’ll put in. Vulnerability, forbearance and forgiveness are required for your coupling to become the place of respite it has always been designed to be. Rob and I have nearly bankrupted ourselves in tears, in counseling and in hard conversations as we slowly learned again to love each other with grace. And our endeavors have paid off handsomely. Here we are, nearly a quarter of a century later with the marriage we’ve always dream of: a place of rest that blesses us continually.
“Marriage should be honored by all…” (Hebrew 13:4 NIV)
Lord, today we acknowledge Your good design for marriage. Forgive us for falling short, for our sin and struggles against each other instead of grace and appreciation. Help us learn to live willing: willing to accept responsibility, willing to be vulnerable, willing to grow. We believe that with Your help, our marriages can be remade into the places of rest You’ve shaped them to be. Recreate our garden for two.