Lessons Couples Can Learn from the Christmas Story

Sarah Coleman

1. Trust God.

“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’ And then the angel left her.” (Luke 1:38)

It may not make sense. The situation may seem impossible. The odds may be stacked against you.

Trust God. Trust He knows what He’s doing. He knew what He was doing when He entrusted the birth of His Son in the care of two young people. He knew what He was doing when He brought you and your spouse together. The Father will work all things together for good. Trust in Him.

·         2. Love can grow in difficult circumstances.

“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.” (Matthew 1:24)

Unfaithfulness. Bad financial decisions. Unemployment. Wayward children. It’s not easy.  But neither was ridicule for marrying a pregnant woman who claimed to have seen an angel. Neither was a journey to Bethlehem with a woman about to give birth.

In difficult circumstances love can grow. It won’t be easy and your patience will be tested, but love is purified and strengthened in the fire. Mary and Joseph loved their baby but they also loved each other. They did not allow tough situations to drive a wedge between but to mature their love.

3. Walk it out. Together.

·         “And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.” (Luke 2:4)

Mary and Joseph embarked on the journey of giving birth to the Son of God together. They had each other’s backs. They didn’t have all the answers. But they could not do it alone.

Go on the journey together. Two are better than one. You may not know what lies up ahead but do it together. Protect each other. Share the load. The journey is better when you journey together.

·         4. Look for the stable.

“She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” (Luke 2:7)

Though we are talking about a family who lived 2,000 years ago, a stable was not a common place for a babe to be born. My guess is it was neither comfortable nor pleasant smelling.

Yet a miracle occurred in the manger.

You may be living in your own “stable” right now where life just plain stinks! Look for the silver lining. Look for the hidden blessing because it is there. You will discover your very own miracle when your change your outlook.

 مقال حلو أووووي بعنوان: دروس ممكن يتعلمها الزوجين من قصة الميلاد: ثقوا في الرب، الحب بيكبر وسط الظروف الصعبة، أمشوها سوا ، وأخيرًا، دوروا على المذود بتاعكم

Ways to Be a Supportive Husband

Michelle S. Lazurek
·          Pray with Her

The most important area you can support your wife is in prayer. As a husband, it is necessary for you to take the lead in praying with—and for—your family. Families are under spiritual warfare now more than ever. Marriages are crumbling, divorce rates are skyrocketing, and children are in despair. But it is hard to be mad at someone when you’re praying with them. Sharing prayer requests deepens the intimate bond between you and your wife. It helps you to know what’s on your heart and also helps her to know she is not alone.

·        Honor Her

Doctor Henry Cloud, the author of the book Boundaries, encouraged husbands on his radio show not to view a wife’s criticism as personal judgment. Instead, see it for what it really is: an expression of a need. Husbands must understand that when a wife is frustrated, underneath that frustration is an emotional need that’s gone unmet. When you cease to take her frustration as a personal criticism and start seeing it as an expression of her needs, you can ask the Lord how you best can meet it. Even if you don’t fully understand what she is expressing, ask the Lord to reveal it to you.

·         Take an Equal Role in the Chores

When a husband tells the wife he’s going to help her around the house, he implies that it’s her primary role and that he is merely assisting her. But if both parties are working outside the home, it’s only fair that both have a hand in cleaning the house when they come home. It is unfair for the wife to have to do the work of several people. This minimizes her value and can make her feel like a maid rather than a wife. For every hour of work that she does cleaning and cooking, match it. If she cleans the kitchen, offer to clean the living room. For rooms you both use, clean up after yourself and take the initiative to take care of them. By doing so, you demonstrate being a good steward of the home—and people—God has entrusted to your care.

·         Submit to Each Other

Ephesians 5:21-24 says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”

Some churches overuse this passage to describe what a healthy marriage relationship should look like. They often focus on wives submitting to their husbands as husbands assume their role as the head of the house. They often neglect verse 21, which says, “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

It is important to note that while wives should submit to their husbands, husbands can also submit to their wives. If a husband is honoring his role in the marriage, which is to give himself up for her, she should feel that she’s being put first in every situation. Therefore, it would be easy for her to submit to her husband when conflict or a situation arises, resulting in an impasse. If a husband is giving himself up for his wife as Christ gave himself up for the church, it will be easy for him to submit to her when he knows she is right. In the same way, a wife will find it easy to submit to a husband who puts her first in every situation. This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Ephesian church regarding how husbands and wives should relate to each other.