Articles
Lost and Found
On a Wednesday night some years ago I noticed my wedding band was missing. I looked here and there and prayed I’d find it.
The next Sunday following a congregational potluck, several men were putting folding chairs into the closet. Howard Lambert walked by with a gold ring in his hand. “Did anybody lose a wedding band?” “That’s mine!” I said. Boy, was I glad to get it back! It must have slipped off when I was putting chairs away the previous Wednesday night.
That evening Sara purchased a ring guard. My ring had been loose for years—and lost several times—but no more!
Sara and I were visiting with a woman and the subject of marriage came up. She mentioned waiting five years after a couple marry before giving them a wedding gift—to have some assurance it will last. I’m not sure if she really does this or was simply making a point.
Loose rings. They don’t stay on. What can serve as a good “ring guard” to keep our “I do” from becoming “I quit!”? Here are two. Don’t pick one. Take both!
►We must keep God first in our marriages. Where both husband and wife are devoted to God, the success of their marriage is almost guaranteed. Why? Because both are trying to live by God’s standards, including such marriage-preservers as forgiving one another, serving each another, and speaking the truth in love.
►We must make up our minds to stay together—because that’s what God wants for our marriage (Matt. 19:1-9; Mal. 2:13-16). We must not even entertain the thought of divorce. Instead, together we figure out some way to make this thing work! It must! It just has to!
About that loose wedding band, my problem was I kept neglecting to do something about it. Every time it came off, I wasn’t aware of it at the moment. Only later I realized my loss. Unless we did something to prevent it, the next slip-off might be permanent.
Marriage. It’s too precious to let it slip away!
