Tracy and I had been married about 10 years when a friend approached me with a business opportunity. He went through the details of how easy it was to make money buying and selling used cars. Everything he said made sense and it looked like easy money. When I told Tracy about it, she objected from the start. However, since I was a “businessman” and she was a housewife, I overruled her and immediately proceeded to lose tens of thousands of dollars over the next six months. Additionally, I was involved in a severe car accident with one of the cars from that lot which put me down for a while. Through these circumstances God gave me another epiphany — one that was hard to learn, but nevertheless, a valuable one. He taught me that my wife’s intuition may be more important than all the business savvy or advice I could muster.

Genesis 2:24 conveys that through marriage, a man and woman become one flesh. The Hebrew word used is ’echad. It does not signify a single person, because it is an adjective. If you reason through the concept you will understand that the husband and wife are different people with (possibly) different opinions and even values. However, there should be a singularity, likeness, togetherness, and unity that exceed one of the individual’s wants or needs.

The bigger lesson was about marriage itself. Marriage is designed to be a partnership and support system you cannot find any other place. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. There is strength and understanding beyond a single individual’s mental capacity. Where there is weakness in one person He will find the strength through the partner. For example, in my case my “objective mindset” told me the numbers were good. In her “subjective mindset” she saw that the people mix was wrong. She saw what I did not have the capacity to see. Now, is she always right? — of course not! No one is right all the time. The key is being a willing to listen to another opinion or advice. Normally, when both of us agree, God has a way of working all things together for our good.

During your married life, you will find times when there are disagreements, even bitter disagreements. Don’t let those circumstances deter you from the long range knowledge that two are better than one, because there will be many who feel differently. Large sectors of our society view marriage as disposable, like diapers. Once it gets dirty, you throw it away. In Malachi 2:16 we see that “God hates divorce.” And in Matthew 5:32 and 19:19 Jesus said the only reason for divorce would be the unfaithfulness of a spouse. So the reality is (in most cases) that divorce is not an option – and you must enter marriage with that mindset. Even if it gets overwhelming remember Philippians 4:13: I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. And if that isn’t enough, remember this: from 1 Corinthians 10:13 . . . God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.

Love, Dad