What would you do if you saw this sign? It’s in the corner of the parking lot at my local Wal-Mart. No one parks near it, because no one wants to fall into a sink hole! Can you blame us?
When 65 yr old Inocenta Hernandez of Guatemala City heard a loud noise in her house last Tuesday, she discovered it came from the opening of a 40 ft deep sink hole UNDER HER BED!!!! Her grandchildren had been playing nearby earlier. See the whole story here.
A sink holes are natural depressions and can be made worse by erosion or storms. They can be caused by the natural running of water or changes in the landscape. Married life is full of “changes in the landscape” caused by the natural running of life, erosion of solid ground, and storms. We have to be on guard against natural tendencies in our lives that can turn into sink holes. Many couples fall into the deep sink holes of other relationships, emotional or physical; with social media and men and women mixing in most work places, it’s easier than ever for it happen where a weak spot forms in a relationship.
Have you ever experienced a sink hole in your home? In your relationships?
Marriages have times when our foundations may be “compromised,” looking something like this:
- not spending much time together, because there’s just too much “life running”
- one or both partners not spending time in God’s Word
- one or both partners thinking more earthly things than godly things
- no accountability for the strength of your relationship
- little intimacy physically, emotionally, or otherwise
Prov. 4:26-27 (NIV) Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Especially when the ground is soft, we have to give “careful thought” to where and how we walk out married life. We can’t veer off of God’s path, taking a step to the “right or the left” to dabble in a relationship that tempts us with “forbidden fruit” or promises of emotional satisfaction. A sink hole may start to open up when two people make contact through social media and start to engage in what feels like very private conversations, sharing more of life and developing bonds. A sink hole may start when married partners aren’t connecting, but a coworker or friend IS available and makes their care known. Have you seen one open up?
Sink holes are forming before they’re visible. Let’s be steadfast in our marriages, keeping our feet from evil, so we don’t hear a noise, wake up, and realize we’ve fallen into a deep and dangerous pit right in our own home.
Has the Enemy been drawing you or a friend you love into a sink hole? I would love to pray for you today, if you would send me an email at the contact button above.
And for those of us who are so certain that no sink holes lurk in our own hearts or homes, “let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:11-13). Sweet readers, let’s stay on the path of blessing for our homes together!
MaryPershing says
Great post, Julie!
My husband and I work hard at putting fences up around our marriage. Anyone who wants to be friends with us in social media that is of the opposite sex must friend our spouse too. We do not spend time with people of the opposite sex without our spouse present. When one of us is home alone and someone of the opposite sex drops by our house they do not come in the house they stay on the porch to talk. Things like this help.
We both know, from previous marriages, how important these fences are…and how important honest communication about things like this are.
The protection we have set up for our marriage is not something we take for granted either, we have to work on it all the time, finding time to talk and pray together often and making sure that we have "date time" is very important to us too. Not always easy to find the time, but always important.
Thank you for sharing about this topic. It can easily become something that we take for granted. A great reminder.
Mrs Mary Joy Pershing
faithfamilyfibro says
This is an awesome post. I sent it to my husband too. Thank you for this. We needed it today. Have a blessed day.
Julie_Sanders says
I'm so glad. I think we need it a lot more often than we want to admit. 🙂
Julie Sanders
http://www.comehaveapeace.blogspot.com
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Kalyn Comings says
Great analogy!
Warren Baldwin says
Good, practical advice.
Julie_Sanders says
Those are such wise boundaries, Mary Joy. Having those habits in place makes a difference when unexpected "sink holes" arise around us.
Julie Sanders
http://www.comehaveapeace.blogspot.com
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