Build Memories with Your Mate

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun.
—Ecclesiastes 9:9

Another resolve you can make in order to experience a regret-free marriage is this: “I will build memories with my mate.”

A couple who had been married for fifty years was asked the secret to their happy marriage. The husband said, “Oh, that’s easy. We dine out twice a week with the works–candlelight, violin, and champagne. Her night is Tuesdays; my night is Thursdays.” We may laugh at that, but a lot of mates practice that kind of relationship. They do things separately instead of together. Now, I’m not saying you have to spend every moment with your mate. But one of the primary reasons God created marriage was for togetherness.

In Ecclesiastes 9:9, Solomon says, “Enjoy your life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life.” I see a lot of couples who seem to be just marking time with each other. They are always waiting for something. Waiting for their children to get out of diapers. Waiting for their kids to go to college. Waiting for the mortgage to be paid off. Waiting for retirement. Waiting, waiting, waiting. And before they know it, their plans are ambushed by an unexpected illness or death. Solomon is saying, “What are you waiting for? Why are you postponing enjoying the mate God has given you? Enjoy your spouse to the fullest today.” Is there a hobby you and your spouse want to engage in together? Start taking lessons today. Is there a trip you and your mate have been thinking about taking? Go ahead; take it today. You don’t have any promise of tomorrow. Enjoy your life with the mate all the days of your fleeting life here upon the earth.

I remember conducting the funeral service of a man who had suddenly died of a heart attack. I stood there as people passed by the coffin. Finally, the last person who passed by was the widow. She sobbed uncontrollably as she realized she would never see her mate again in this life. I couldn’t help but think, “How would I respond if I looked at the lifeless body of my mate?” How would you respond?

You cannot eliminate completely the grief you will feel on that day, but there are lots of things you can do, beginning today, to lessen the pain that comes from marriage regrets. If you want to have a regret-free marriage, decide to practice these resolves in your life. See your mate as a gift from God, one to be enjoyed all the days He has given you on this earth.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Living without Marriage Regrets” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.