A Cord of Three Strands

^{I've been thinking a lot about marriage these days. Mostly new marriages since "wedding season" has come upon us in full force. Nearly all of my orders are related to weddings. I originally painted this sign as a belated wedding gift. I painted the braided rope directly onto the sign.} 

 

^{It's only natural that I would think of weddings as I paint signs like this. I love these verses from Ecclesiastes chapter 4. Read them in the HCSB version: 
11} Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? ¹² And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

 I've recently had several request through my Etsy store for a version of this sign but with an eye hook so the couple can braid a cord during their wedding ceremony. Here is one I just completed and will be shipping to Georgia in the next couple of days. **A Cord of Three strands in my Etsy Store.**

Painting these signs has given me an awesome opportunity to pray for the people who will receive them. Most of the people who will see these signs and touch these signs and braid these strands will be people I will never meet. As many of you know, the divorce rate, even among Christian couples, is staggering. It's devastating. As a child of divorced parents I know what it feels like to have brokenness in something that is supposed to stay whole.

It has really been on my heart recently to pray for marriages. For my own marriage, for those just starting out, and those struggling. I don't even pretend to know the particulars in others' relationships, but I like to believe what Ecclesiastes 4:12 alludes to: two people (in this case a husband and a wife) and Christ. With Christ as the third strand in our cord, I believe it is not easily broken. I understand there are challenges that go along with marriages. There are financial burdens, stressful careers, homes to care for, children, dishes, messes, laundry, dinners, church commitments, etc. Life has only seemed to get busier the longer we are married. But there ARE ways to keep Christ right there with us. It is possible to stay connected to your spouse in the midst of busy lives. 

I just want to offer a little bit of encouragement to those of you out there who are married to make an effort to love on your spouse today. Go out of your way to show them that you love them.