Showing posts with label Marriage Specials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marriage Specials. Show all posts

Friday, September 12, 2025

Marriage Is Not for Babies

 


Marriage Is Not for Babies

Marriage is not for babies.
Not for the faint of heart, nor for those who confuse the butterflies of romance with the backbone of commitment. It is not for those who run at the first sound of thunder, nor for those who think love is only candlelight and roses.

Marriage is for grown souls—two pilgrims who understand that love is not a playground but a pilgrimage, not a toy but a treasure, not a fleeting spark but a steady flame that must be tended with care.

Love Beyond Butterflies

When two people stand at the altar, they are not just saying, “I do.” They are saying, “I will.”
I will stand when life knocks us down.
I will love when feelings fade.
I will forgive when it hurts.
I will walk with you even through valleys where the sun forgets to shine.

Too many step into marriage thinking it is a fairy tale. But the truth is, fairy tales end at the wedding; real stories begin after it.

Real Life Example: A Test of Fire

Take the story of Chinedu and Amaka. In their first year of marriage, they were intoxicated with joy. But then life came with its storms—job loss, a miscarriage, and debts piling up. Friends whispered, “Maybe you two weren’t meant for each other.”

But instead of running, they held hands. Amaka took on two jobs. Chinedu swallowed his pride and learned a trade. Together, they built again. Years later, they now run a thriving business and cradle children who know what resilience looks like.

Marriage was not for the baby in them who wanted easy roads. It was for the grown in them who chose endurance.

Marriage Requires Maturity

  • Babies want everything their way. Grown people learn to compromise.
  • Babies throw tantrums when denied. Grown people learn patience.
  • Babies quit when the toy breaks. Grown people repair and rebuild.

If you step into marriage without shedding childish ways, you will crush under its weight. That’s why the Scripture says:
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Real Life Example: The Covenant Keeper

There’s an older couple in my community—Baba and Mama Oladipo. Married for over 50 years, they’ve walked through sickness, lack, and even seasons of misunderstanding. But ask Baba his secret and he’ll say, “I decided long ago that my vows were stronger than my moods.”

He did not stay because every day felt sweet. He stayed because covenant love demands staying power.

The Poetic Truth

Marriage is not for babies—
It is for warriors who fight selfishness.
It is for builders who lay bricks of trust daily.
It is for farmers who sow seeds of patience,
Water them with forgiveness,
And wait for the harvest of joy.

Marriage is not for babies—
It is for those who can wash the wounds of their spouse,
Even when those wounds were caused by careless words.
It is for those who can dance in the kitchen after arguments,
And pray together when all seems lost.

Marriage is for those who know love is not always a feeling,
But always a choice.

Closing Call

If you are stepping into marriage, step with open eyes. Don’t go as a baby seeking toys; go as a grown soul ready to serve, to sacrifice, and to stand.

Because marriage is not for babies—
It is for those willing to grow,
To bend,
To bleed,
And still to believe.


👉 

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Marriage That Gives Life, Not Death: A Deep Advice to Singles and Young Couples

 


🕊️ Marriage That Gives Life, Not Death: A Deep Advice to Singles and Young Couples

The story of Sefa and his young wife is one of those accounts that stops you in your tracks. A woman—just 34 years old—is gone. Not because someone physically harmed her, not because she took her own life, but because she lived in a marriage that slowly drained her.

Her diary—now made public—reveals a reserved, emotional woman who poured her thoughts onto paper. In her words, one can trace the silent agony, the hidden battles, and the longings of a soul caught in a marriage where love was absent.

No one needs a knife or gun to kill. Emotional torture, neglect, and stress can suffocate a person’s spirit until the body gives way. High blood pressure, depression, insomnia, and failing health are real consequences of emotional trauma. Sadly, this young woman’s story ended in death, but her life still speaks.

It speaks to singles who are waiting, and to couples who are just beginning. It reminds us that marriage is not a social trophy—it is a life covenant.


✨ Lessons for Singles

1. Do Not Ignore Red Flags

The truth is that love is never blind. We only choose to ignore what we see. Disrespect, lack of care, neglect, emotional manipulation, or indifference are signs that cannot be fixed by wedding vows. Marriage magnifies what was already there. If you excuse bad character now, it will only grow teeth and claws later.

📖 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

2. Don’t Marry to Silence Society

Our culture places so much pressure on women, especially when they approach 30. The whispers, the mockery, the labels—“too picky,” “too proud,” “bad character”—can push one into hasty choices. But the same society that mocks your singleness will not sit with you in the loneliness of a toxic marriage.

Better to endure questions now than tears later. Better to be single and whole than married and broken.

3. Value Yourself

You are more than someone’s spouse. You are God’s image bearer, with destiny, gifts, and purpose. To trade your health, peace, or sanity for the illusion of companionship is to lose yourself. Your worth is not tied to marital status.

📖 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

4. Seek God’s Guidance Above All

Emotions can deceive, but God sees the heart. Only His Spirit can reveal what eyes cannot see. Pray earnestly, wait patiently, and let God lead you.

📖 “The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).


✨ Lessons for Young Couples

Marriage is not just about two people living together; it’s about two souls becoming one. Without love, respect, and sacrifice, marriage can become a cage instead of a covering.

1. Marriage is Built on Love and Respect—not Endurance Alone

Some people say, “Marriage is endurance.” But endurance without love is torture. Love without respect is manipulation. True marriage is where both partners find safety in each other’s arms.

📖 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

2. Guard Each Other’s Health

Emotional stress is not invisible—it manifests in the body. High blood pressure, anxiety, heart palpitations, sleepless nights, ulcers—these are common in toxic homes. Protect your partner’s peace. It is worth more than money, fame, or success.

3. Communicate with Truth

Silence kills. Unspoken pain grows until it breaks someone. Don’t sweep issues under the rug—talk, listen, resolve. Create an environment where both of you can be naked emotionally and not ashamed.

📖 “Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25).

4. Never Fake Love

Why marry someone you don’t love? To meet expectations? To satisfy family? To escape loneliness? Marriage without genuine affection is like a body without a soul—it looks alive but is dead inside.

Pretending to love someone is not kindness; it is cruelty. Eventually, the cracks will show, and the one who trusted you will pay the price.


🚫 The Trap of Society’s Pressure

Sefa’s wife married after 30, and society’s eyes were on her. If she had left the marriage, they would have mocked her—“It’s her character, that’s why she left.” This is the cruel cycle many women face: condemned for singleness, condemned for divorce, condemned even in silence.

But your life is not for people’s applause. Marriage is not a performance for social media, it is a covenant before God. Don’t let the noise of the world drown out the still voice of God.


🛠️ Practical Steps for Singles and Couples

  • For Singles:

    • Make a list of non-negotiables (character, faith, values).
    • Seek counsel from wise, godly mentors—not just friends.
    • Don’t rush because of age; God’s timing is perfect.
    • Observe how the person treats people they don’t need. That is who they really are.
  • For Couples:

    • Pray together regularly. Prayer keeps love alive.
    • Set aside time for honest conversations.
    • Prioritize peace over winning arguments.
    • Seek help early—mentorship, counseling, or therapy—before issues grow into mountains.

🙏 Final Words and Prayer

Marriage should not kill. It should heal, build, and multiply joy. It should be a shelter where love thrives, not a battlefield where souls perish.

So I pray for you today:

  • You will not marry your enemy.
  • God will expose pretenders before vows are exchanged.
  • You will not trade your peace for society’s approval.
  • Your home will not be an altar of pain but a garden of joy.
  • May every single person discern true love from deception.
  • May every couple find grace to nurture unity and peace.

📖 “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1).


👉 Dear singles, protect your heart. Dear couples, protect each other. May God give us marriages that give life—not marriages that slowly take it away.



Welcome to Faith Reflections with Reverend Ayodeji M. Ayodele

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