Have you ever had a shirt with a loose thread? It seems like such a small thing, doesn’t it? But all it takes is one quick tug for you to realize that thread is part of a much larger problem. The next thing you know, your clothing is unraveling right before your eyes.
A marriage can have loose threads, too. A husband and wife don’t see eye-to-eye, or they’re not communicating very well, or little resentments start to crop up here and there. They seem like such small problems. But before long, the fabric of their marriage is unraveling right before their eyes.
Jeremy and Tiffany Lee can tell you exactly what that’s like. You may recognize Tiffany, a contemporary Christian singer, by her stage name, “Plumb.”
Like most marriages, their first years together were fun and exciting. They appeared to have the perfect lives to everyone around them. They had three small children, exciting careers, and they lived in the sort of large home that we so often equate with success.
But underneath that public image the loose threads were starting to emerge. Their disconnection was growing by the day, and they were barely surviving in their marriage.
Tiffany was trying to balance her Christian music career with the demands of marriage and motherhood. Jeremy was becoming more and more lonely and unhappy, and he blamed his wife for most of their problems.
The stresses of life were taking their toll on the Lees, and they were drifting emotionally and spiritually. Eventually, Jeremy announced he wanted to separate from Tiffany.
There seemed to be no hope for reconciliation.
But through God’s grace and the intervention of a loving community of Christian friends who supported their marriage and refused to take sides, Jeremy and Tiffany eventually reconciled, found healing, and stitched their marriage back together again.
Maybe that image of a marriage unraveling before your eyes resonates with you. You feel like Jeremy and Tiffany’s story is your story. Your relationship is broken, and you’re desperately trying to figure out what to do.
Hope is what you need, and it’s what we’ll offer you in abundance over the next couple of days. Jeremy and Tiffany will be our guests for our next two radio programs. No matter how dark and deep your troubles may seem, the Lees, and thousands of other couples who have been in your shoes and yet came through, will tell you: “There is hope.”
You can hear the broadcast on your local radio station, online, or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app.
Don’t forget our counselors are available to speak with you if you need guidance on what to do to find hope for your marriage.
If your marriage looks hopeless, I encourage you to seriously consider contacting Focus on the Family’s National Institute of Marriage (NIM). They specialize in helping couples who are in extreme crisis. Give them a call at 1-866-875-2915 or visit online at nationalmarriage.com.
Let me close with a special word to pastors. Valentine’s Day 2016 will be celebrated on a Sunday. At Focus on the Family, we believe that weekend offers the perfect opportunity for churches to unite in conveying one important message – marriage should be honored by all.
To that end, we are organizing a special event in churches across the nation called Honoring Marriage 2016.
We’ve made it easy for you to host a special event and talk about marriage in your services and classes that weekend (or another weekend of your choice) with our Honoring Marriage Event Kit.
Included in the kit is material for sponsoring a Date Night couples event, sermon notes, Sunday school lessons/activities for adults, youth, and kids, plus all the promotional materials needed to host and promote a church event.
In addition, free resources will be made available to you, the pastor, to prepare a sermon and a “How to Start a Marriage Ministry” ebook to assist you in launching an ongoing marriage ministry in your church.
For full information on our Honoring Marriage Event 2016, visit our website.
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Matt C. Mitchell says
-hi!