Marriage and Your Heritage

One of the purposes of marriage is to produce children. It’s God’s plan and command. Now, there are certainly exceptions but, in general, one of the things that God has in mind with our marriages is that we have this amazing opportunity to pass on to the next generation the truth of the gospel. We get to impact the kingdom of God by raising our children so they know, experience and hopefully receive the greatest gift we can ever leave them. They come to know and walk with our God. 

            There are so many things that are incredible about getting to be parents. The wonder, delight, joy and overflowing love you have for your children is just about unbelievable. It is also meant be a way that God weaves a husband and wife closer as they experience parenting. Many times, unfortunately, we do not see this, but this is what God desires. Parents together share this role of impacting the next generation.  Even in the hard times and painful experiences of raising children it can create a strong bond in our marriages if we allow it. 

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So, the experiences we share as parents with our children are ours alone. No one will ever have those. It can and should be part of the glue that keeps us together. 

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            Johnny and I have often said that after losing our oldest son Zach one of the things we realized was that that experience is a shared experience that no two other people on the planet can ever totally understand but us. We were his parents; we suffered the loss; it is something that binds us, even though it was incredibly hard to live through. So, the experiences we share as parents with our children are ours alone. No one will ever have those. It can and should be part of the glue that keeps us together. 

            Today, I had a reverse reminder. Children are a heritage that we have the privilege to raise, and parents are to be the model of love and commitment. It was a poignant moment as my dad entered into hospice care. I was sitting on the end of my dad’s bed; my youngest son Cole was there with me. I watched as Cole observed my mom (his grandmother) lean over and talk to my dad and run her fingers through his hair, and love on him. I said to Cole, “This is what 63 years of a marriage covenant can look like. This is what saying ‘until death parts us’ means. This is what a heritage of love and faithfulness gives you.” 

Powerful and painful, but oh so profound! Let the blessing of the heritage flow both ways. 

~Carla