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Ashley Willis

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The BEST KEPT SECRET to take your marriage from GOOD to GREAT

The BEST KEPT SECRET to take your marriage from GOOD to GREAT

Last updated on: October 9, 2015 at 5:34 pm by Ashley Willis

The BEST KEPT SECRET to take your marriage from GOOD to GREAT 2015-10-09T17:34:54-04:00 Ashley Willis

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Do you have a good marriage, but you really want to make it GREAT? There’s a surefire way to add a little spring to your step and passion into your lives, but it’s not what you think…

Dave and I had a delightful breakfast with a sweet, young couple last time we visited Nashville, and something the wife, now friend of mine, told me really stuck with me afterwards. We were talking about our wedding days and honeymoons. I told her about how Dave and I went to Cancun, Mexico and how beautiful it was. My friend, on the other hand, said she and her husband went to Africa.

AFRICA!

No, they didn’t go to a luxurious resort or on an African safari…which would have been amazing. They went to serve at an ORPHANAGE…even more amazing. This awesome couple spent their HONEYMOON helping children at an African orphanage. Amazing.
My friend had served at this orphanage prior to marrying her husband, and she wanted him to experience this amazing ministry in person. She wanted to share this special part of herself…one of her heartfelt passions…with him and serve these precious orphans TOGETHER. Shoulder-to-shoulder. Hand-in-hand.

What an awesome start to a marriage!

They made the act of serving part of their family DNA right from the very start. I couldn’t help but be inspired by their story. I could see the passion radiating from her smile. She is now even more passionate about this special African orphanage because her husband now SHARES this passion with her.

Serving is one of those God-inspired things that has power and blessing all wrapped up in it. I believe a couple who serves together, stays together. Every married couple needs to cultivate a shared passion and put it into action.

Just because we didn’t spend our honeymoons on the mission field doesn’t mean that we can’t live out this principle in the current season of our marriage. I recently heard an awesome story about a couple at our church who has decided to spend their retirement in Guatemala so they can run an eye clinic for those in need. This couple is in their sixties. I wouldn’t blame this couple if they wanted to go buy a beach house in the Caribbean, purchase an R.V. to hit the road and travel, or stay right where they are to embrace their grandchildren. None of those choices are bad things. In fact, they are good, well-earned retirement stories.

What caught my attention with this story were the pictures of this couple that the pastor shared with the congregation. Right there on the big screen, I saw this vivacious older couple with vibrant, passionate smiles on their faces as they fit a little Guatemalan orphaned boy with much-needed glasses for the first time.

It was infectious…to us and more importantly, to them.

They shared a passion for serving the under-resourced Guatemalan community, and they are putting their passion into action in their retirement. I’m sure they would be the first to tell you that their joint passion for starting the eye clinic has taken their otherwise “good” marriage to “great”.

We don’t have to live with a ho-hum marriage. God wants so much more for our lives. Our light shines brighter TOGETHER especially when we are passionate to live out a greater purpose and help those in need.

So, what is it? What passion do you share together? How can you put it into action? Make plans to live it out and watch your good marriage become a really great marriage.

Thank you so much for reading and sharing.

I’d love to connect with you on my NEW Facebook Author Page! Like my page by going to Ashley Willis.

Are you on Pinterest? Follow me at Ashley Willis. Be blessed!

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