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“My father was a Presbyterian minister and growing up I had the pleasure of attending many of the wedding ceremonies he performed. It was truly delightful as a little girl to see the fairy tale of happily ever after coming to life in this manner. Perhaps my mother worried that the fairy tale image would become ingrained in my mind; whenever I asked her about how wonderful marriage was, her reply was always the same: "Marriage is hard work." If I pressed the issue, pointing out that my mother and father chose each other, her response remained the same: "Marriage is hard work." No matter how I rephrased the question, her response never changed. Over time I grew and matured and married and came to understand what my mother meant by those words.”
- It’s All About the Food: Lessons in Fellowshipping Daily with Christ
I’m a happy wife, and I testify to that fact on my blog and my social media sites. Yet in my book, “It’s All About the Food: Lessons in Fellowshipping Daily with Christ” there is the reference to marriage as "hard work". The phrase “hard work” may cause some uneasiness, but my parents' lessons regarding marriage are accurate. A wedding is a party and marriage is about working together to be fruitful. Marriage is about receiving and fulfilling the blessing.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
- Genesis 1:28 (MSG)
The fulfilling of the blessing requires being responsible and getting busy with the hard work of building. Building a life together; building a home; building wealth. My husband and I have developed a practice of creating and reviewing our goals annually to ensure we’re on track in fulfilling the blessing and being fruitful. It strengthens our faith, improves our communication, and keeps us grateful.
Faith
Creating and updating our family plan allows us to map out our destiny. This planning is a specific time to listen to the Holy Spirit and clarify how God can use our union to His benefit.
Communication
Sitting down to create the plan opens the door for real conversation about each of our needs and desires. Our plan provides focus so we know we’re both united and working toward the same goals. Making small individual sacrifices is easy because we see the bigger future payoff.
Gratitude
Our family plan also keeps us grateful and excited. We notice and celebrate each accomplishment achieved. Making the many ways in which God has blessed us fully evident while the steps we need to take to continue to move forward present themselves as we work through the planning process.
What aspect of creating a family plan excites you most, faith, communication or gratitude? Please share in the comments below.