We want you to know that we are praying for “A-Ha Moments” for you —particularly as they pertain to your marriage.
“These are moments that catch us by surprise. They’re moments when the Holy Spirit stirs something inside and somehow, miraculously… the brain and the spirit come together deep in our hearts and says, ‘Did you see that? Did you catch it? This is an ah-ha moment.’” (Quote by Eva Marie Everson)
They are moments when we finally understand things we didn’t before.
You can definitely experience these moments when you read your Bible. But you can experience them at other times too. Most of us have probably had those moments —ones where we finally get it. It’s like a light bulb goes on in our thinking and we see things we should have seen a long time ago but didn’t. But now we do! As it pertains to marriage, we finally understand things our spouse has been saying for a long time. And now that we DO understand, we will never approach it in the same dumb way we did before.
April, from the web site Peacefulwife.com tells of her “moment” where she had been trying to work on her marriage in ways that made sense to her, but they weren’t helping her relationship with her husband much at all, but then God opened her eyes…
“AND THEN… a wonderful thing happened. I saw my husband in a totally different light. I started to love him in a different way… not the desperate way I was. There was peace! My mind wasn’t in a whirlwind anymore. I wasn’t worried about everything anymore. I saw my marriage in a way I had NEVER seen it before!” (You can read more about her journey in the article A Wife Shares Her “Aha Moment”)
Steve and I have had these experiences.
We’ve had experiences where we’ve seen our marriage and particular situations in a whole new light. One of the most impactful was earlier in our marriage before we were Christ followers. We were about to split up but then the Lord revealed Himself to me, and eventually to Steve. When that happened, all new worlds opened up to us that we had never seen before. We were never the same, and God helped us to see that our marriage would never be the same, if we followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, our Wonderful Counselor.
From that point, we’ve worked with the Lord to build our marriage strong, and good, as God leads. It’s hard work, but there are many, many joys that come with it —making it all worthwhile.
An “Ah-ha” moment God gave me:
One of my “Ah-ha moments” in our marriage was when the Lord showed me how disrespectful I was treating my husband. I thought I was treating him just fine. Yes, there were times when I would say things to him and about him in mean-hearted ways. But I rationalized it that it was all his fault —that when I perceived he did something stupid, it warranted my saying so, whether I said it in sarcastic, mean ways, or not. I felt he deserved it.
But then one day I woke up. In a moment of time I realized that I was tearing down my marriage partner, my teammate. This was not good for our marriage relationship, and it was not honoring to God either. I’m told in the Bible to treat my husband with respect. There is no clause included “unless your husband does something you perceive to be stupid.” Who did I think I was to say these types of things to my husband —no matter what he did or didn’t do? God spoke deep into my spirit that I was never to act that way again. I was to treat Steve “as unto the Lord.”
And from that Ah-ha moment on, that has been my mission. And wow! How that has helped our marriage! I never knew this would be one of the benefits —that is not why I changed. But it sure has made Steve and I closer through the years.
An Ah-Ha moment for Steve:
God gave me (Steve) this particular “Ah-Ha” moment a number of years ago —that my wife needs and deserves more love than I had been showing her. Since that revelation it has been my mission to show Cindy in tangible ways every day that I truly CHERISH her. I do this is by doing things I don’t particularly like doing, but in doing them I know it will make Cindy’s life easier.
One specific job is “kitchen duty.” That can be cleaning up after dinner or occasionally making dinner, cleaning and putting dishes away. It can be giving her a foot massage after she’s been on her feet all day. It’s making sure her car has a full tank of gas and washing it when it’s dirty. These “things” cost little or no money but I know they bless her… and here’s the important thing… I do them expecting nothing in return. I do them because I believe that’s what Christ has called me to do, and be, as her husband —someone willing to do anything to show her how much I love and cherish her.
Our prayer for you:
This is our prayer for you —that God will give you moments of awakening:
Heavenly Father, may we all become genuine seekers for those “Ah-Ha” moments that can make the greatest difference in our marriages… and not just for a few days, but to learn and grow in ways that will bless our spouse and honor You. And may you give them to our spouse. We pray this so our marriages will grow stronger, healthier, and that above all, you will be glorified.
In Jesus name we pray this, Amen.
May God bless your marriage abundantly this year and beyond,
Cindy and Steve Wright
Filed under: Marriage Insights