Marriage: Make it or Break it.

Andrea Merrell is one of my favorite editors at Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and a dear friend. When I heard she had a new book out I jumped at the chance to share it with my readers. I hope you enjoy her story and will check out her brand new book, Marriage: Make it or Break it. It’s a good one.

 

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM

By Andrea Merrell

 

Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price,

and especially dear) in all things.  Hebrews 13:4 AMP

 

The look on my friend’s face was priceless when I said, “I’ve been married three times—to the same man. I could see the wheels turning and knew from past experience the questions and comments that were sure to follow.

 

“I didn’t know you’d ever been divorced,” was the first.

 

“I haven’t.”

 

Brows furrowed in confusion and frustration.

 

After my explanation, my friend smiled and nodded in approval.

 

When I married my husband, Charlie, over forty years ago, we were young, a little stupid, and living a pretty worldly lifestyle. Our ceremony was simple, in my mother’s living room, and God wasn’t even on the guest list. We had done little more than obtain a license to live together.

 

After four years of struggling with our relationship—all the while knowing something was missing in our marriage—I became pregnant with our first child. That’s when the Lord began to pull on my heartstrings, gently wooing me back into His arms. Thankfully, my husband and I both returned to Him together and our life drastically changed.

 

Three years later, we renewed our vows in celebration of our seventh anniversary and all God had done. It was a beautiful ceremony beside a lake, and we were surrounded by our new church friends and family. Exactly nine months later, our second child was born, which seemed to be God’s way of blessing our new commitment to Him.

 

Eighteen years later, we celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary by renewing our vows once again.  This time it was in a church. I finally wore a real wedding dress, and our son and daughter served as best man and maid of honor. We even had a real honeymoon this time.

 

Now, here we are more than twenty years down the road, best friends, and more in love than ever.  Why? Because we invited the Lord to be the center and heart of all that we are, all that we have, and all we ever hope to be or accomplish. We learned to let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things.

 

If you want your marriage to be strong and stand the test of time, commit it to Him.  Pray for each other, have fun together, and love each other unconditionally.

 

Some have asked if we’ll marry again.  Maybe, maybe not. We have a few more years until our fiftieth, so we’ll see. But then, why bother? As they say, “third time’s a charm.”

Andrea Merrell is an associate editor with Christian Devotions Ministries and Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She is also a professional freelance editor and was a finalist for the 2016 Editor of the Year Award at BRMCWC. She teaches workshops at writers’ conferences and has been published in numerous anthologies and online venues. Andrea is a graduate of Christian Communicators and a finalist in the 2015 USA Best Book Awards. She is the author of Murder of a Manuscript and Praying for the Prodigal. Her newest book, Marriage: Make It or Break It, is now available on Amazon. For more information visit www.AndreaMerrell.com or www.TheWriteEditing.com.