Lent and Love

Love is blind, but marriage sure is an eye opener. God may have come up with the concept of romance and love in Heaven, but when it is lived out here on Earth, something seems to be lost in the translation.
Maybe it comes down to jealousy, pride, and self-centered sin natures.
What if we actually lived the vows we made at the altar? What if the wedding day wasn’t the pinnacle of the relationship, but the launching pad for it to be even better?
Do we treat marriage as if it is the epitome of the hunt rather than just the first step in an ever-better process? Why are we willing to invest so many committed hours to one another when we are dating, but once we tie the knot, we replace the courtship moments with time robbed by the tyranny of the urgent?  
A husband was reading the newspaper and told his wife, “This article says that a woman speaks 30,000 words per day, while a man only speaks 15,000 words.” The wife replied, “The reason has to be because a woman has to say everything twice.” The husband looked up from reading the newspaper and asked, “What?”
How do you listen? Do you multitask? Did you know that multitasking may not be a habit that is actually healthy for us?
There is evidence that such a practice can actually be a pain in the brain. Is all the new technology a blessing or is it more of a curse dressed in sheep’s clothing? When was the last time you were all in with your face and not just your ears?
Why don’t we give our best to the ones we say that we love the most? The Bible says that Jesus should be our first love and while we may agree with that in theory, it is not always true in practice.
How would our lives actually be different if we kept our eyes fixed on Jesus? Maybe it would keep our priorities straight in the importance of our other relationships.
How much quality time would you say you spend with your significant other? Affairs are birthed when we start investing the prime rib of our attention to someone other than to the one we promised to serve the best of our love to.
Seconds should not be settled for by our spouse. Those vows you expressed when the heart was fully engaged at the wedding should still be setting the standard of excellence for the foundation being laid in constructing your cathedral of love. 
I officiated a wedding where the husband couldn’t wait to kiss the bride. He was chomping at the bit to have their lips locked.
Yet as the years go by, smooching loses it luster. Just a simple reading of the Song of Solomon will teach you that God calls our lovemaking an act of worship.
When was the last time your kids caught you stealing a kiss in the kitchen? Children who are raised in an environment where parents are still very affectionate to one another prove to be more secure than those who have never even seen their mom and dad holding hands.
I have fond memories of my parents dancing together in the living room. Even now, when I hear those songs they used to sway to, tears fill my eyes. What is filling the eyes of your offspring?
I once heard it said, “Marriage is like a violin. When the music stops, the strings are still attached.” God imparted symphonies to be sung deep within our DNA.
Send her roses when she’s feeling blue, say the words he needs to hear. Marriage takes two friends whose love stays true when their vows are treasured throughout the years.
Let her know that she is your Wonder Woman. Let him be assured that he is your Superman.
If you are anything like most couples, you are probably opposites. One is an extrovert, the other an introvert. One is energized by projects, the other longs to be with people. She may always be moving while he is smooth and calm.
In the covenant of marriage, God makes two individuals into one flesh. The question is not, “Which one do you become?”
The miracle that the Lord does is weaving two unique lives into a majestic tapestry of a union that brings out a best that would be lost without the merging of your two hearts together.
Marriage is a lot like a Polar Bear Plunge. If you are going to dive into an icy ocean for a good cause, you aren’t going to make it in if you do it one toe at a time. It is accomplished by closing your eyes and running full speed ahead with no option of turning around.
Here is the recipe for making a delicious sandwich that results in a happy marriage: “Just lettuce alone and meat in the middle.”
What if you both made a decision to get creative about expressing, “I love you,” to one another? What if you both tried to outdo each other by competing in an exercise of communicating concrete acts of kindness every single day? Don’t make the mistake that so many have made by waiting too late to resuscitate what could just use a healthy dose of fresh air now.
Today is Ash Wednesday. Way too often, and without much thought or prayer, we give up some token item for Lent.
What if this year leading up to Easter, rather than abstaining from something, you promised to give your heart away each and every day? What if you loved one another as Jesus loved you? What if couples all over Cape May County were making sure that their marriages didn’t end up in the graveyard but actually became more alive than ever before?
The Lord is still in the business of rolling the stones away. The next time I see you, let me catch you in an embrace. This might be the most powerful way God wants to make grace shine upon your face when you practice the look of love.   
ED. NOTE: The author is the senior pastor of The Lighthouse Church, 1248 Route 9 South, Court House.