A recent conversation with a friend has been on my mind. Though states apart, she and I have been sharing struggles over this last year and trying to decipher how to best navigate the ever-changing and chaotic cycle that our days spin in. We then started talking about marriages and family life. I had began to feel a prompting redirecting my stressed and tired feelings in other areas that were clouding my best intentions in my marriage. I couldn’t let my guard down, assuming that my strong and healthy marriage would survive the last year of less than ideal external strains threatening our peace.
It became even more clear that as divisions rose this year in our world, our churches, and families, our marriages were becoming more at risk in the divisiveness, too. That conversation lit a fire to the intentions of my heart and actions to reclaim the love and unity my marriage deserved. Nearly twenty years in, doesn’t make it easier, but we have years of togetherness to draw upon to restore that foundation. Both my husband and I, with our twenty years worth of quirks, habits, and little annoyances, deserved the nurtured love and connection of a newly married couple. If there was something I wasn’t going to allow the pandemic to claim, it was my marriage. In my deepest heart, I knew it would never get “that bad,” but I also knew I wasn’t going to wait around without intentional action to water and tend to the garden of our commitment.
Then, my friend had an idea. What if we started a mission? What if we called on others to strengthen their marriages, too? Having spoke to other women, we knew we were not alone.
So, who needs a boost? This month focused on love, Valentine’s Day, and National Marriage Week this week, seems like the perfect time to focus on marriage. To recall the commitment we made, to pray together for each other and all marriages.
The plan is simple: commit to praying each day for your marriage and the marriages of others {a decade of the Rosary, novena, adoration, whatever you can manage}. Share this message and mission with others, however you can. Be a witness in your marriage or let another couple know that you are praying for them, too. We can share favorite books, quotes, or stories that inspire and encourage us!
We can use #recallingourcommitment to follow others on social media who are ready to come along as well! Let’s harness the power of our texts, a phone call, email and social media for good. We are stronger together. Our marriages are worth the fight! Will you join this mission? I’m praying for each of you who read this and your marriages. I can’t wait to hear how you are reclaiming your marriages through prayer and recalling your commitment to one another.
Sarah Heidelberger is a wife and homeschooling mom of five who keeps her days steady with her planning and organizing skills. Read more about her on the “Perpetual Posters” page.