Jim Daly - The Best Year of Your Marriage: 52 Devotions to Bring You Closer

By Jim and Jean Daly

Remember the moment you first fell in love?

It seems like an easy, straightforward question. But is it?

Many of us, when asked, find our minds wandering back to our first crush or an innocent kiss stolen under the stars. At the time we thought we were in love, but if we were really young, chances are we werent.

Instead, we were in love with the idea of it all, not the person whose hand we first held.

Theres a big difference as the two of us know.

Were still passionate about marriage helping couples experience marriages that dont just survive but thrive. Having recently passed our twenty-seventh anniversary, we can honestly say our marriage is getting better by the year.

But we havent always experienced this upward trajectory. There have been tough times, as there always are. There have been seasons of struggle and periods of frustration. Well share some of them in the following pages. Through it all, though, weve challenged ourselves to keep close by seeking to remain in consistent fellowship with the Lord.

We dont know where you are on the marital spectrum, of course. Maybe youre newly married and the future looks as bright as the morning sun. Maybe you find yourself in the doldrums, a period of stagnation; things arent really bad, but they arent very good, either. Or maybe youre doing pretty well and want to maintain that status which is why youre reading this book.

Wherever you are on the marriage continuum, theres something here for you. Because marriage was Gods idea, He wants the very best for our relationships. It must break His heart to see so much strain, strife, and stress battering homes around the world.

It need not be this way.

Designed as a gift to mankind that brings glory to the Creator, marriage is an institution critical to the sustainability and stability of society. God has built into every human being a desire for companionship and craving to love and be loved.

There are some who seem determined to undermine the importance of marriage as God intended. Sadly, these individuals and movements grab the headlines. But they dont represent the majority opinion. David Popenoe, a former professor of sociology at Rutgers University, recently suggested that people who say traditional marriage is becoming obsolete might be voicing a fear, not expressing a wish. We think thats pretty insightful.

If you ask people what they fear most, its not uncommon to hear talk of terrorism, death, pain, and even public speaking and spiders. Yet, if you speak more intimately with these same people or even watch how they live as opposed to listening to what they say you often get a very different take on what truly burdens them.

Since God created people for companionship, it makes sense that many of us fear loneliness most of all. Studies have confirmed that loneliness is on the rise in the U.S., a curious thing since were increasingly connected at least technologically speaking.

By some estimates, 60 million Americans (20 percent) are lonely. A significant percentage of these people have absolutely nobody with whom to talk over important or intimate matters.

Its no wonder that many would fear the loss of marriage as an institution, especially given its emotional, spiritual, and physical benefits. If theres no marriage, theres no hope of that long walk into the sunset with your aging spouse by your side.

Were reminded of a favorite observation from the late President Ronald Reagan, whose love affair with his beloved Nancy has been so well chronicled. Regarding the gift and beauty of marriage, consider the Gippers poignant reflection in a 1989 interview with reporter Mike Wallace:

Nancys power was the power of, well, giving me a marriage that was like an adolescents dream of what marriage should be. Clark Gable had some words once, when he said there is nothing more wonderful for a man

Even while he was president, Mr. Reagan used to stand by the window in the White House and watch for the lights of the car that would bring his Nancy home.

Were called not only to preserve the God-ordained institution of marriage and highlight its benefits and His reasons for it; were to model it well, too. Perhaps many people fear the loss of marriage because theyve never seen a healthy one in their own families or communities. Wed be wise to quell that anxiety by living out our marriages as they were intended to be.