When Sinners Say "I Do"

My wife, Ebe, and I are the guinea pigs of an experiment our church is conducting. It is called group marriage counseling.

We are apart of the first group to attempt this. Our church has never conducted marriage counseling beyond that designed for individual couples.

This has been so beneficial to our relationship and made us think of things that we normally wouldn't have without direction and prompting. There are 5 couples including the associate pastor and his wife who are leading the group discussions.

To see and hear of how other couples struggle day to day in either the very same way you and your spouse do or how they struggle very differently from you is so encouraging.

We are going through the book: When Sinners Say "I Do" by Dave Harvey.

I highly recommend you read this book (whether married or single).

It is not an exaggeration to say that the themes we are discussing in this book have changed my and Ebe's life. The Holy Spirit has used it and this group to begin to dismantle the inappropriate...let's just say it...sinful attitudes and patterns we continually fall into as a couple.

We are also learning just how much of a process sanctification (becoming more like Jesus) really is. We will need counseling and other believers in our lives until we go Home or Christ returns. There is no place to "arrive" where struggling is no more.

The only place where that happens is Christ's heaven.

I also encourage you to realize that marriage is hard and to accept that. Don't be discouraged in your struggles! Know that you are not alone in them. There are so many other believers who are struggling in their marriages. Christ is with us and in us. He is more invested and committed to our marriages than we are. He will keep His vows to us and enable us to keep ours to our spouse.

Let your struggles force you to Christ's side and not into despair. We are safe and secure in Him.