Hello Friends,
It all started with a trip to Lowes to buy flowers. I will go on record now as admitting that I am in no way a flower person. I love them and I think they are beautiful, but many flowers have come to my house to die, so I don’t buy many.
On this particular trip, I only planned on buying one, maybe two. We were having a small group fellowship and I just wanted one or two to make things more colorful. I walked through all the aisles looking at flowers and price tags. I came across the clearance shelf and honestly, I laughed to myself.
Why would I even consider looking at these flowers? These were the ones that real plant people bought. These were the ones that were basically dying. It would take someone with a green thumb to nurture these and resurrect them to their full glory.
I was not that person.
However, as I got closer there were some that still looked pretty good. The 50% off price tag is what really spoke to me so I started trying to convince myself that maybe I could save these and make them beautiful.
Even though the self-talk didn’t fill me with confidence, the selling price won out and I bought flowers off the clearance shelf. As I walked out of Lowes all I could think was, “Lord, help me.”
A Little Potting Soil and A Lot of Prayers
I came home with 10 flowers, a bag of potty soil, and little hope. I called some friends that plant and ask for tips which they graciously gave. Then I sat in my front yard, with the neighbor’s cat as my sidekick, and I replanted all my new flowers.
As I stood up to look them over and at that moment the Lord dropped this in my heart.
Things grow here!
I started thinking about all the things that I had seen grow in our home. I have seen friends created, marriage restored, conflict resolved, and new adventures begin. Yes, things do indeed grow here. If spiritual things can grow here so can physical. I instantly started praying over my little flowers that they would grow and become big and beautiful.
Resurrection Power
With my newfound confidence, and will a lot of tips from friends I was feeling hopeful and expectant. I walked around declaring that things do grow here! Then the Lord took that thought a little deeper when I ran across this verse.
If we died with Christ, we know that we will also live with him. Christ was raised from death. And we know that he cannot die again. Death has no power over him now. Romans 6: 8-9
This weekend we celebrated Easter, the time of year that Christians set aside to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. A time Jesus literally took on all the sins of the world and died for us. But then the wildest and most beautiful thing ever happened. He did not stay dead! He was resurrected and because of His resurrection, we can spend eternity with Him.
With this concept of growth still in my brain along with these verses, the Lord asked me this?
What does my resurrection have to do with your everyday life?
This one made me think. Easter is all about what Jesus has done for us and what we gained because of it. We get Heaven which is amazing on a level we cannot comprehend completely, but Jesus died for more than just Heaven. He died so we could be victorious here on Earth. Romans tells us that because of His resurrection, death has no power over Him.
If He lives in us that means death has no power over us. Simply put I can walk in His resurrection power on a daily basis. I am talking way below physical death here. Through Jesus not only do we have the power to grow things physically and spiritually but we also have the ability to resurrection things the world has condemned. We have the ability to breathe life into any person, area, or situation we come across that is dying.
A Resurrected Life
God raised Jesus from death. And if God’s Spirit lives in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. Yes, God is the one who raised Christ from death, and he will raise you to life through his Spirit living in you. Romans 8:11
We have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead inside of us. So I ask you this question.
What needs resurrecting in your life?
Before we can go and bring this resurrection power to someone else I believe we need to start inward. What areas do you need this resurrecting power? Although you can look at every area of your life, and just for the record, you totally should. Let’s use this space to focus on your marriage.
Is there an area in your marriage that needs some resurrecting?
When you look at your relationship with your spouse. Do you see a thriving and healthy union or one that is all but dead? Do you see a passion that is in constant pursuit of the one you love, or passivity that barely has a pulse?
A few areas to check for a pulse would be-
- Communication, are you talking to each other in a way that is life-giving, or life draining. For some, the question would be are you talking to each other at all?
- Sex- is it happening at all? If so, are both people happy with what is happening
- Service- Are your love languages being spoken? Are you speaking your spouse’s love language?
- Atmosphere- Just like we would check the thermostat to see what the temperature is in your home, check the thermostat or your marriage. Is the atmosphere peaceful and warm, or cold and harsh?
If you find yourself asking most of these questions in a negative way there is good news. All these areas can be resurrected, Yes, all of them can! Much like my plants, it will take time, care, and nurture, but you can turn your marriage into something that is alive and beautiful. Let’s break down a few ways we can do this in our marriages.
Marriage Resurrection
Pray
God is the Creator of marriage. He knows what is happening in your marriage, but we have to start by being honest with ourselves. We have to pray and ask the Lord to come and help us every day. When we pray we also need to ask the Lord what we can do differently.
We can’t continue to do the same things and get different results. We have to change things to bring in new life.
Speak Life
Starting speaking life over yourself, your spouse, and your marriage. I am not talking about a name it and claim it kind of process. Look for the good and praise that instead of constantly complaining about your marriage.
Negative begets negative so find the positive and shine the spotlight on that. This one thing can really start changing the atmosphere of your marriage.
Invest
Just like those flowers have basic needs, your marriage needs to be attended to as well. You can water your marriage but loving your spouse well and investing in each other.
Find out their love language and speak it every day. Join a small group, or buy a marriage book. Google and find a marriage retreat and attend it.
Find any way you can to water your marriage regularly.
Things Grow Here
The world wants you to believe that your marriage is dead and can not be resurrected, but that is simply not true. Things may genuinely be bad, but if you will start using the resurrection power that is inside of you because of Jesus, your marriage can be restored. Just like my flowers, it won’t happen overnight, and it will take time and effort, but the outcome can be more beautiful than you could ever imagine.
So go get your hands dirty!
You can do this!
We are praying for you!
For more ways to invest in your marriage check out our book, “A Beautiful Adventure Marriage: A Guide for the Marriage God Created for You”.