A Great Reminder

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, The LPM Blog, and found this excerpt from the book Devotions for a Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas in the blog called Marriage Vitamins by Amanda Jones.

From "A Soul Filled with God" on p. 9:

Personal worship is an absolute necessity for a strong marriage. It comes down to this: If I stop receiving from God, I start demanding from others. Instead of appreciating and loving and serving others, I become disappointed in them. Instead of cherishing my wife, I become aware of her shortcomings. I take out my frustrations with a less-than-perfect life and somehow blame her for my lack of fulfillment.

But when my heart gets filled by God's love and acceptance, I'm set free to love instead of worrying about being loved. I'm motivated to serve instead of becoming obsessed about whether I'm being served. I'm moved to cherish instead of feeling unappreciated.

I am by no means an expert on marriage (just ask T), but this definitely speaks to what I know about God. He created us for relationships but wants us to choose Him above all else. I know that I have always found it be true that if Troy and I are having problems, one or both of us is having an issue with God. I know that one of my greatest struggles is putting my husband second to God. I adore my husband but, without a doubt, if I seek to find my worth in him, he will do something that disappoints or hurts me. When I seek to find my worth in Christ, I can offer Troy complete support, encouragement and love. hhhmmmm....I guess, just like everything in life, marriage works best when "personal worship" or filling your life with Christ comes first.