She’s On Lease

The other evening, my wife and I attended a church event for married, engaged, and seriously dating couples. It was a time to enjoy your partner with a candlelit dinner, entertainment, and fellowship with other couples. This being our first event like this, we were a little uncertain and perhaps skeptical about what this would entail for us as “The Newlyweds”.

In the few short months since we have been married, many of our conversations with other couples have generally followed the same flow: “You just got married?” “When was the special day?” “Where did you go on your honeymoon?” etc. So while we were excited for the promise of a romantic and relationship-strengthening night with other couples, we were not looking forward to the prospect of having a lot of attention on us just because we are newlyweds, and people find it interesting and easy to talk to us.

I am happy to say, however, that the Date Night event did not follow in the tracks of our fears, but instead fulfilled our hopes for the night! We got to meet fun couples who just as eagerly wanted to talk about themselves as they wanted to learn about us. We also got to enjoy good food, dancing, and a fruitful seminar-style speech.

One key takeaway I got from the seminar that changed my perspective on my marriage was that my wife is not mine “to own”, but rather has been given to me on lease by God. I’ll say it once more so that it really sinks in: She’s not mine to own, she’s on lease from God. When I understand that I am to give my wife back to God one day, it motivates me to lead her and our household the right way and treat her as God wants me to. This means that I need to work with my wife to stay aligned, or in tune, with how God intended us to live in our union. We need to steward our time and resources well, serving and loving others, and most importantly, loving God.

One day, I will give my wife back to her heavenly Father. When that time comes, I want God to look at my wife and be pleased with the way she lived. I want Him to look at her and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” And while much of that is up to her, it is up to me, as her husband, to help her stay aligned with God’s ways. So my prayer over our marriage is that God will give me the wisdom and courage to lead well. It is my prayer that the two of us will keep God at the forefront and center of our marriage, seeking Him above all else. And it is my prayer that you will do the same in your relationships as well.