God has saved my marriage more than once…probably even more than the times I remember. He saved my marriage from my husband’s addiction to pornography and our lack of true intimacy. He has been free since 2008 and I can’t express how restored our marriage feels. God also saved my marriage in a year of emotional confusion for myself. As a woman, I know it is easy to lose sight of my identity if it is not grounded in Christ. For a season in our marriage, I did not know who I was – and I allowed influences and another man to walk into my life emotionally. I thank God that He had a city of angels around me and that I had spiritual mentors who were able to pray and rebuke that situation. It could have ended my marriage and my relationship with so many. I know God goes before us, behind us, and beside us. I know He had shields surrounding my marriage from the fiery darts!

The beauty of a Christ centered marriage is finally having the freedom to express, dream, and learn and have fun together. True intimacy is only found when the mind and heart are truly pure. So many marriages are filled with lust, porn, & comparison; without Christ, true intimacy is impossible. By the renewing of our mind and placing boundaries we can find intimacy the way God intended.

Loving God first allows us to have an intimate relationship with the father – to know love and to experience forgiveness. If we are unable to be loved by the creator then we are unable to be loved by our spouse. If we get that out of order then idols can take place in the marriage and before long we are on separate paths and doing our own thing. When we love God first he aligns every step after that; when we put Him first, all paths will be straight. We use our marriage to point others to Christ by the words of our testimony. We shine what God has done in our own marriage: how He was faithful in the darkest nights and how His love can change the pattern and behaviors of our existence.