Marriage Lessons by Jolene Engle

Hello everyone!

As you may know, I love reading blogs and I am a bonafide blog-hopper :-D

I am particularly interested in blogs that talk about relationships (no surprises there!), especially from a Christian's point of view.

Imagine my joy when I 'bumped' into this lovely blogger, Jolene Engle's world where she writes weekly (sometimes more) on her journey of meeting and marrying her husband, the challenges they have faced along the way and the joy and beauty of being a God-ly wife.

Sometimes, she kindly writes articles for us who are yet to join the married club.. I like her down-to-earthedness and her practical approach to addressing topics in marriage... and the icing on the cake?? It's based on the word of God :-) The first day I started reading her blog, I was so blessed that I went back to her first post to trying reading all her articles :-)

Recently she celebrated 15YEARS of marriage with her Beloved (as she lovingly refers to her husband) and she had the following 15 lessons she has learnt as a Godly wife from being married for 15 years (I guess that's 1 for each year)..

15 Things God Has Taught Me in 15 Years of Marriage

1. As a Godly wife,  I needed a boatload of trust in the Lord for all aspects of my life.
2. As a Godly wife, I needed to put my faith in Christ to be my provider rather than my husband.  Since I’m married to a self-employed man sometimes throughout our marriage his job status has changed to being an unemployed, self-employed man!
3. As a Godly wife,  I needed to learn contentment when life didn’t go according tomy plan.  (Still learning this one!)
4. As a Godly wife, I needed the Lord to calm my anxious heart and meet me where I was when my Beloved, a mere human, wasn’t capable of meeting all my needs.
5. As a Godly wife, I needed to be filled with God’s overflowing grace so I could pour that same grace into my man, otherwise I’d have a crack in my marital foundation…and just a tiny sliver is enough room for the Enemy to squeeze into and wreak havoc in my marriage.
6. As a Godly wife, I needed to encourage my man and become the Good Samaritan Wife to him when the world knocked him down.
7. As a Godly wife, I found that when I became my husband’s biggest cheerleader, he became mine.
8. As a Godly wife I had no idea how much I’d have to die to self in my marriage….and how much I’d enjoy dark chocolate as a result of this!  No, honestly, I didn’t realize how much this obedience to Christ would produce such sweet fruit in my marriage.  It’s all worth it, dear friend.
9. As a Godly wife I was blown away by how much influence I had over my husband (and how I really enjoy this perk of the relationship!)
10. As a Godly wife I learned I didn’t have to carry all of the responsibilities of our family and finances on my shoulders.  Although I didn’t fully understand why God made husbands as the head of the home when I was a new Believer and then a new bride, I fully see the benefits of this God-ordained headship today.  It’s a wonderful blessing the way God set this marriage thing up!
11. As a Godly wife I needed to make sure that my mothering did not take precedence over my marriage.
12. As a Godly wife I needed to learn that extended family and friends did not come before my marital relationship, therefore, we put hedges up around our marriage to protect us from this outside influence.
13. As a Godly wife I needed to learn that my husband is drawn to me when I’m vulnerable, transparent, humble, caring, forgiving, gracious and kind, rather than when I’m prideful, impatient, snappy, argumentative, contentious, and withdrawn.  I want my husband drawn to me. 
14. As a Godly wife I needed to learn that my marriage was designed to bring God glory as well as to make me holy.  This puts all of my hardships, trials, and heartaches into perspective!
15. As a Godly wife, my marriage is not about me, it’s about the Lord!

(Original article HERE)

Happy Married Life Jolene, here's to many more beautiful and fulfilling years of marriage xx

So I'll like to ask anyone who is married, what lessons have you learnt from being married?

God bless you xx