JON ALLEN

I am really excited this week because my family is going to be visiting this weekend. This will be the first time they will get to host all of them at the same time. We will have Dad, Mom, Jen, Jon, Jared, and Kim all staying with us. Our house is going to look like a motel! It should be fun though, I always like seeing my family and catching up. I really count myself blessed to have a family as strong as I do. Looking around our community it is getting harder and harder to find families that are still together. It seems like divorces are as common as oil changes… change your spouse every 3 years or 3,000 arguments. Sad, isn’t it.

A message to you husbands and wives… your responsibility is not to yourself alone. When you got married you took on a responsibility for your spouse as well. Your commitment was not only to them, but to God as well. You entered a covenant relationship which is not to be broken. I know that marriage is not always easy, I know it takes work, but remember that love is a choice, not a feeling. You either choose to uphold your covenant or you don’t. Don’t give up on your promises to God, embrace them, cherish them.

And if your parents didn’t set a great example for you, then choose to be different. Stay true to your promise. It reminds me of the lyrics to an Everclear song (not necessarily endorsing the band)… “My daddy gave me a name, then he walked away… Now I’m a grown man, with a child of my own. And I swear I’m not gonna let her know all the pain I have known.” Those lyrics speak to breaking cycles. Don’t let the mistakes your parents made in their marriage break yours apart too, choose to break the cycle, break the chains.

I thank God regularly that he gave me parents who held their vows. They set a tremendous example for me as a couple and as parents. I can’t thank them enough for that. Be that example in your marriage as well, my prayer is that I will too.