Bible Verse for Bonus Day: So accept each other just as Christ has accepted you; then God will be glorified (Romans 15:7).

If we are serious about pursuing spiritual growth through marriage, we must convince ourselves to refrain from asking the spiritually dangerous question: "Did I marry the right person?" Once we have exchanged our vows, little can be gained spiritually from mulling over this question.

A far better alternative to questioning one's choice is to learn how to live with one's choice. A character in the Anne Tyler novel A Patchwork Planet comes to realize this too late. The book's 32-year-old narrator has gone through a divorce and now works at an occupation that has him relating almost exclusively with elderly people. As he observes their long-standing marriages, he comes to a profound understanding:

"I was beginning to suspect that it made no difference whether they'd married the right person. Finally, you're just with who you're with. You've signed on with her, put in half a century with her, grown to know her as well as you know yourself or even better, and she's become the right person. Or the only person, might be more to the point."

"I wish someone had told me that earlier. I'd have hung on then; I swear I would. I never would have driven Natalie to leave me."

—Gary Thomas in Sacred Marriage

My Bonus Day Response: How can I affirm the rightness of the marital choice I made?

Adapted from Sacred Marriage (Zondervan, 2000) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, help me take the initiative in repairing any damaged relationships in my marriage.

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