Your #1 Marriage Essential

"Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come."
Song of Solomon 2:10-12 (NIV)

Marriage is like a plant. A plant needs water to stay alive, and time is the water you pour on a marriage to keep it alive as well.

In the greatest love song ever written, the Song of Solomon, a wife pleads with her husband in chapter two, verse 10, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me." This isn't just a suggestion. She's asking for some together time. She wants the two of them, alone.

The number one way you spell love in a relationship is T-I-M-E. Nothing will communicate to your spouse that they're the number one priority over all other relationships than when you give them the most valuable thing you possibly have - your time.

Think back on your dating days. What were you giving to someone when you were dating them? You were giving them your time! Later in Song of Solomon 7:11, the wife says again, "Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages." She’s not asking to go shopping; she wants to be alone together.

Teresa and I started a habit years ago where every October we’d take a trip just the two of us. I told her that we would do whatever she wanted. Picnic on a blanket? Go for a walk? Sit and talk? Whatever she wanted to do, that’s what we did. It was one of the best decisions we ever made.

Why don’t you try it? You may not be able to get away for a whole weekend, but just take out your calendar right now and block off some time to do something special. Mark it "Us." Don't plan the details yet, just protect that time from everything else. Then tonight, tell your spouse, "I've reserved this date just for us. Where would you like to go?" Watch their face light up when they realize you're prioritizing them with your time.

Prayer: Father, forgive me for letting everything else crowd out time with my spouse. Help me protect our relationship by protecting our time together. Show me how to prioritize us the way You prioritize a relationship with me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.