This past July, my husband and I celebrated eighteen years of marriage. And every time we celebrate yet another year, I’m reminded of the day when everything almost fell apart. And all I can say is, praise God He intervened, for if He hadn’t, I would’ve lost the love of my life. (You can read more about our early struggles and how God turned things around here.)

Getting married is easy. You fall in love, put on your wedding-gown-and-fountain-cake glasses, and say those words you can’t imagine not keeping. Words like, “I will always love you,” and “I will stand by,” and “I will cherish you.” But then life happens and our sinful nature rears its ugly head, and suddenly, those words aren’t just words anymore.

They’re our key to marital survival.

Last Sunday our church launched a series on marriage–one I believe will give all of us tools to build marital intimacy. Because it *is* possible. More than that, it’s God’s design. So, for those of you who are married or are considering marriage, I encourage you to listen to this sermon series—because honestly, when we do this love-thing God’s way, we find it works. Marriages thrive. Hearts heal and are united in a beautiful way.

You can find part one of the series, “Lose Your Way,” here, and you can return to this page each week to find the next sermon in the series.

And now I’m going to go listen to this song for the third time this morning, thinking of my forever-love and what God has done in our marriage. Love you, Stephen Slattery!

Let’s talk about this!  If you’re married, is your marriage as intimate as you’d like? If not, how might God want to change that and what might be your role in instigating that change? Perhaps ten years ago, I read an interesting title of a marriage book, one I think of often. The title was, “Why Should I be the First to Change?” So now, I pose this question to you. 🙂 And I suspect that question could apply to any marriage. Pause to consider close marriages in your social circle. What are some things you notice about this marriage? Any traits or behaviors you might wish to adopt? Join the conversation in the comments below or at Living by Grace on Facebook.