God’s desire for us is that we might be one in the bond of unity in the same way that we are one in the union and fellowship of Christ.
Consider this verse, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24, (KJV)
Have you ever noticed that little word, “cleave” tucked into this verse? And have you ever stopped to consider the significance of that word? It means to keep, and to stick with, and to hold close to, but there’s also a deeper meaning that we should consider.
A cleft is a split, a crack, or a division. Therefore we can look at cleaving this way: to divide along the natural grain forming a cleft that is necessary when grafting two plants together.
In order for those plants to survive this new union they must be completely sealed.
When I consider this grafting of two plants, I can’t help but be reminded of the fact that God created Eve from Adam. When two are joined together in marriage, they return to their original state of union. A husband opens himself to envelope his bride and the two grow together as one.
When they are completely sealed by the Holy Spirit that union is protected and strengthened. Like a cord of three strands, it’s not easily broken.
This article is an excerpt from Messy: Beautiful Love by Darlene Schacht. Used with permission from Nelson Books © 2014.
Lord, help us to grow in unity. Teach us to live compassionately, embracing the needs of each other as we would our own. May our hearts beat as one, as together we seek to walk in Your mercy and grace. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife
I do appreciate how much you and your husband loves the Lord. But..It’s painful to read your insights on marriage; my husband doesn’t love either me or the Lord like that. Or if I’m wrong and he does, then it isn’t in a way that is obvious to me. I do intentionally focus on an intimate relationship with the Lord, and seriously try to look at Him to provide in all my needs. I have lost the friendship of my husband somewhere between pregnancies? I do believe that he cares for me but I am so hurt by his short-tempered responses to my attempts to befriend him…he acts unloving towards me. We have serious communication problems. I feel rejected. I am resorting to being a quiet wife, emotionally distracted, and fear I am losing my original personality and joy and quality of life.. We seldom have a normal conversation about regular stuff…religion is off limits, although we attend church together, he doesn’t know how to open his heart and I seriously doubt whether he has an intimate relationship with the Lord.
We have been married 17years and have four kids ranging 2 – 13 years. I hear the Lord’s teaching on my marriage, and I do need to repent and change, especially around boundaries.
Tonight I need prayer to stand strong against the evil attempts on my marriage…I am weary. I would love for our hearts to be in unity. Please pray with me: “Lord, may our hearts beat as one – for Your glory, amen.”
When I posted this, I was thinking just that Elma, which is why I closed in prayer. I know that many marriages are struggling to get to that place. I’ve been there too. I encourage you to read the first chapter of my book (free) on Amazon. I’ve seen that hope and redemption is a real thing for marriages.
I love timewarpwife website. Thank you for serving the Lord. I came across this site looking for cleaning schedules. I am 48 yrs old and still can’t seem to get organized. It is so important that wives respect and obey their husbands. Titus 2:5. Love your site a bunch.
I’m glad you found your way here!
I just found your blog via pintrest! I love what I have read already! So excited about TUES!!! Can’t wait to start reading and get my treats!!!
I’m glad you found your way here, Amy!
Hello Darlene, requesting permission to borrow this prayer. My husband Don and I married in March 2013. God knew what I needed and also what Don needed. However we have yet to date put a wedding photo up in the house. I would like permission to use this as I would like to make a photo frame with this prayer of yours and insert our picture in place of the one on the post,
very inspiring messages, that you share, thanks for all you do thru Gods hand, sincerely Kat & Don Shores
Yes, absolutely. What a beautiful idea!