In my last blog I wrote about how going to India has made me closer to God. That’s the best thing that has happened from it. But it’s not the only thing. It has also brought me closer to my wife Nancy. We’ve always been close, but something happened in my during the years I’d go to India without her. Being away from her for a month at a time made me realize just how important she was to me and how important a part of my life she had become. That say we don’t appreciate something (or someone) as we should until we lose them. My loss was only temporary, but it was enough to know I need her around me at all times.
As God Himself said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). It certainly wasn’t good for me to be alone. I’m deeply touched by the fact Nancy ha quit her full time job (her nursing career) so she can come with me every year. Sharing the experiences of India, the good and the bad, helps us bond even closer together. I never ever imagined one of the reasons God wanted me to go to India along was to improve my relationship with her, but He it did and it did!
Ruth 1:16-17 “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 1Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
When do you appreciate your mate the most?
Suppose you were separated for them for a month, how would that impact you? If it wouldn’t be a big loss them that should be a warning sign to show something is missing in your relationship.
What can you do to keep from taking them for granted?
INDIA UPDATE: The wives of the pastors in India have a difficult job. They have a family to raise, usually with very inadequate income, a husband to support and a church in which to minister. Since Indian churches usually have many more women than men, much of the load of ministering falls on the wife.
PRAY FOR these pastors, and the ones overseeing their work as well. Pray they would persevere now that some time has passed after the conferences and what they have taken from there has begun to ‘wear off.’ Pray they would stay encouraged, motivated and focused on Jesus and Him alone.
Jerry Schmoyer
Christian Training Organization
india.christiantrainingonline.org/