Today is Don’s and my 37th anniversary. Don likes to say we’ve been happily married for 20 years, and that’s not bad out of 37. <grin> While he’s being funny, he’s also being honest. Ours has not been an easy marriage. We’ve been through many years of counseling with pastors, friends, and professional counselors. To say we’ve learned a lot is a major understatement. And quite a bit of it has helped us. But you know what helped us most?
A book.
Yup, a book on marriage. Sacred Marriage, by Gary L. Thomas, to be exact. But while the title is strong, it was the front sales copy, which I read through the store window as I was walking by, that grabbed me so powerfully that I stopped in my tracks and went into the store to buy the book: “What if marriage is more about making you holy than making you happy?” Oh, how I needed that truth!
Friends, we all know there are a gajillion books out there. And we all know that many of them are on the same topic we happen to be writing on. I’ve heard people say things like the title of this blog time and time again. Who needs another ______?” Go ahead, fill in the blank with whatever kind of book you’re writing. Because I’m here to tell you, someone needs it. I shudder to think of Gary L. Thomas filling in the blank with “marriage book,” taking it to heart, and never writing or pursuing the publication of Sacred Marriage. Because I needed that book. Don needed it, too. I can’t even imagine where he and I would be without the truths we read in “another book on marriage.”
If God has given you a truth to share, then share it. Write it. Pursue His purpose for it. Maybe it’s publication. Maybe it’s not. But I promise you, if God has asked you to share a truth, there is someone out there who needs it. And when they read that truth and it speaks to their spirit and heart, they will thank you. Just as I’m going to thank the man who shared the truths my husband and I so desperately needed.
Thank you, Gary Thomas, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing the truths God asked you to share about marriage. You changed my life and my marriage. I’m more grateful than I can ever say.
Now, last but not least, just for your Christmas pleasure, here’s a song video to inspire and uplift you as you prepare to celebrate the birthday of the King:
