A man’s wife had Alzheimer’s and had to be placed in a nursing home. Every day that husband would go to the nursing home and spend time with his wife. He would talk to her, read to her, comb her hair, and try to meet her various needs. Before he left her room, he would tell her he loved her and kissed her goodbye. He did this day after day, week after week, and month after month. He never missed a day. Often he would bring her fresh flowers.
After one of his daily visits, a group of nurses asked to meet with him. They spoke admiringly of him and told him that everyone was impressed with his faithfulness and the special way he cared for his wife.
“But we want you to know that you don’t need to come every day to see your wife,” the head nurse said gently. “She doesn’t know that you are here and doesn’t even know who you are. …There is absolutely no need for you to feel like you have to keep coming day after day.”
The husband lifted his head. Tears ran slowly down his cheek. In a quiet voice, he said, “I know she doesn’t know who I am, but I know who she is, and that’s what matters. She is my wife! Fifty years ago I made a covenant with her that I would never leave or forsake her and that I would be with her in sickness and in health. And I intend to keep that covenant.”
Fred Lowery in Covenant Marriage
Matthew 19: 4-6- “ Haven’t you read,” He replied (Jesus), “that at the beginning the Creator (God) ‘made them male and female, ‘ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united (joined) to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
After I read this story, I thought to myself, “This husband truly understands what the covenant of marriage is.”
It is an amazing testimony of one husbands love and commitment to his wife. When he said in sickness and in health, he really meant it. It is sad in today’s world; we don’t understand what a covenant is. It is not a contract that can be voided. A covenant in marriage is a lifetime commitment between husband and wife. It is non-negotionable. In Matthew 19 when the Pharisees tested Jesus on divorce, He takes them back to Genesis 2: 24-25. To leave and cleave was Gods’ command before the law. Before Moses allowed divorce due to the hardness of heart. God designed marriage to last a lifetime. To reflect and reveal who He is. I pray that we as Christians can get back to Gods’ original design of marriage. A covenant that will not be broken.
Even through all the hurt’s and disappointments, through sickness, through financial struggles, and through the attack’s of the enemy. Let no man and no circumstance separate what God has joined together.
Mark Soto
Awesome!
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