"For I am married unto you"

Have you ever considered that the solution to marital problems might be found in the simplicity of this statement in Jeremiah: "For I [God] am married unto you"? Jer. 3:14; The Hebrew verb can refer either to marriage or to possession, rulership.

A young woman, deeply troubled over her relationship with her husband and feeling bound into "unpaid servitude," struggled with her sense of identity. She loved her family, yet she felt she had no personal sense of identity. She felt in bondage to the roles of wife and mother, not uplifted by them. This, of course, did not result in a very inspired sense of fulfillment within either of these responsibilities, and the family reflected her apathy and dejection.

Escapes the world offered were not answers my friend felt acceptable. Extramarital affairs, drinking, divorce, or walking away from her family simply were not options she could consider, because she realized they would only compound her problems. After months of not dealing very successfully with the situation, she developed an ailment that manifested itself in great difficulty in breathing. At times breath came so hard she thought she was going to die, and she wondered if this wasn't the only alternative anyway.

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Poem
The heart cries
February 14, 1983
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