I know an amazing couple who have been married fifty-eight years. While that is incredible in and of itself, what is even more monumental is the fact that they are still, after all these years, madly in love. He can’t take his eyes off her. Even when they are across the room at a social event, he watches her and often remarks to his conversation partner, “See that woman over there? She’s the most beautiful woman in this room, and I’m blessed to wake up next to her every morning.” When he was gone at a male-only event at church recently, she missed him so much she baked him a special treat to enjoy when he returned home. They can often be seen walking around town holding hands. And what’s more, this isn’t cheesy at all. With them, it’s completely genuine and natural. They are obviously head over heels in love.
This past weekend I was talking to the husband, and he told me that of the fifty-eight years they’d been married, he could honestly say that they had been happy for fifty-seven and a half of those years. That’s a staggering statistic. That’s 99.14%. Incredible. So I finally broke down and asked the old cliché, “What’s your secret?” He smiled and told me, “It’s simple, really. We never go to bed angry. Every night we go to bed together, hold hands, and pray.”
Amazing. Genius. Such a seemingly simple thing, yet so profound. Studies have shown that one trait of happy couples is that they go to bed together, but that can be really difficult to do. With one spouse watching TV in one room and the other spouse working on the computer in another room, it’s so much easier to just go to bed separately. There are also those who have to deal with a night shift schedule. Be creative. Find a time that works for both of you. A time to turn off all distractions and live the moment with each other in prayer. That’s my challenge to you this Valentine’s Day. Make time each day to hold hands and pray. Prayer is such a powerful tool. What better way to invest your time than calling upon the Lord with the one person in this world you love the most? Try it. And maybe someday, a young couple will ask you what your secret is so you can smile and tell them, “Every night we go to bed together, hold hands, and pray.”
TruthNotes 