‘Called to love each other as husband and wife’

By Sarah Timpe

Marriage Matters is a befitting name for this retreat. In our society, marriage is too often taken for granted. Yet, as Christians, we profess that our spousal relationships are a reflection of our triune God — we are an image of him! Too often, people get married and then simply meander down the path of life. But in a vocation that requires, among a multitude of other things, the humility and self-awareness to stop and evaluate oneself, there is an all too common notion that everything will work out. But we don’t have to look too far to see the fault in that logic.

This retreat was an excellent opportunity to take time for each other and our relationship. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, that we lose sight of what exactly we are doing here. We’ve been called to love each other as husband and wife. But in our sinfulness, there are many times when we fail in that vocational call. Marriage Matters helped us to get back to the basics a little bit … to sit down and work on things, as a couple, in an encouraging setting. As a couple, we need time to reset, recharge and reaffirm our spousal relationship. Members of the clergy often take a yearly retreat to do the same. So why is it not the same for married couples?

A loving family is one of the most powerful tools the Lord has created in showing us himself. And a family, of course, starts with a couple. So as a couple, you are the tool by which the Lord wishes to reveal himself. When we sit back and reflect on that, it’s truly awe-inspiring … the Lord God has chosen us to be a conduit of grace for the world around us. When we think of our marriage in that way, the haze of secular lies begins to fade away, and the clarity of true mission in your life starts to take hold. 

My husband and I  would encourage any couple to consider attending this retreat. From the couple who has been together for decades to those who have been together only a few years (that’s us!), we truly believe there is something for everyone. We’ll speak for ourselves when we say that there is room for growth and humility in our relationship, and how important a healthy marriage is to Christ’s message of love and salvation. This retreat was a wonderful reminder of how much Marriage Matters.