I can still remember the sound of the iron file rubbing against the machete my grandfather used to cut the grass in our yard as a young boy growing up. That sound must have been one of the most annoying sounds I can remember. It caused great pain as it would set my teeth on edge but it was necessary for the sake of having a sharp enough machete.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” Proverbs 27:17. There is nothing greater than a married couple leaving a positive influence on another couple experiencing a season of hardship in their marriage. The question is not if but when will your marriage experience turbulence. None is exempt. Why? God did not create marriage to be perfect. It created it to be worked on together as husband and wife to become one flesh. But you cannot glue to each other without the proper glue. You cannot become one without work. Work creates experience. Experience creates wealth….wealth of knowledge that is!
Every couple can benefit from some together time with another couple with the knowledge and experience that brought them through their hard times in marriage. Michelle and I realized this fact when we had fire in our marriage kitchen years ago and without help and knowledge on how to put out the fire our relationship would have burned to the ground. One key word of advice we stand on and share with our listening audience on our weekly radio program on marriage is to be careful who you share your marriage issues with. Ungodly counsel is like telling satan your issues and wanting him to fix them. The measure at which your marriage is healed is the measure at which you will impact another marriage greatly. Here are four ways your marriage can impact another marriage….
1- A DULL IRON MAKES YOU DULL
Your already troubled relationship will only get worse if you seek help from another couple with the same or worse situation. While on an airplane experiencing a sudden loss of altitude, you are instructed to put on your mask first then put on your child’s mask. Why? You cannot help your child without you being in good condition to give that help. Just the same, a married couple needing oxygen for their marriage to breathe cannot help you get oxygen in your marriage relationship.
2. QUALITY TIME REQUIRES TIME
Being a listening ear is not a bad thing but can be dangerous when it is excessive and at the expense of your own time to spend with your spouse. John and Marcia are living together in marriage but are not living married. They are in the house together but not actively involved with each other. They are sadly just like mother and father but not husband and wife in the home. Chris and Karen have a great marriage relationship and spend much needed quality time together. Karen and Marcia are friends and so are Chris and John. Karen being the kind friend to Marcia now develops constant phone conversations with Marcia about problems with John. As much as Karen is trying to be a listening ear, it put a block on the time to spend with Chris and now their relationship is being impacted negatively. Chris and Karen now begin to drift apart due to not much quality time being spent with each other. Being a listening ear must never take the place of your own needed time with your spouse.
3. YOUR MARRIAGE ON DISPLAY
Although every marriage has its own highway journey, other married couples will still tailgate yours. Michael and Barbara display the ultimate model type of marriage, a marriage in the image of God. Other couples wish their marriage would be the same and rightfully so. Michael and Barbara had the opportunity to share with other couples on how they navigate through their journey. They had the ultimate GPS system, the Bible which they followed very closely. Any marriage displaying Christ will always be a marriage worth following because such a marriage has a love that never fails.
Michelle and I journey along with the Bible as our GPS also and we are experiencing such peace, love, joy and harmony we never had years ago. You can have that same experience in your marriage relationship and be able to have a marriage displaying Christ. But only if you follow the guidance from the creator of marriage. God that is. Michelle and I continue to pray for all marriages to experience that love, joy, peace and harmony that you deserve. Continue to huddle up and enjoy your journey together. Do not stop at the bumps and potholes, roll through them. You will reach the highway of victory in your marriage relationship.
About The Author
Carim Hyatt was born and raised partially in Jamaica, West Indies. He is one of seven children from the Hyatt family and has grown into a great man of God. Carim had the luxury of seeing his grandparents model a Christian family life while portraying a marriage in God’s image. Carim had his mother in his life also and learned a great deal about values and wisdom.
Carim’s passion is marriage and family. He and his wife of twenty years, Michelle,  are hosts of MARRIAGE IN A MINUTE, a brand new radio talk show reaching as far south as Miami and as far north as Orlando.  He has authored two books, The importance of Salvation and Staying Married Becoming One Flesh. Carim is now on his third book, PURITY IN PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE. His journey has taken him from Insurance adjuster to minister through writing and public speaking. Carim leads men’s ministries, married couples lifegroups, praise and worship along with many other areas of ministry as God has lead him. Carim and his beautiful wife Michelle have appeared on Television programs , namely TBN, speaking about marriage and family. He is a great motivator, mentor and loves the Lord with all his heart. His passion is to see every marriage go the long haul while being molded into God’s image.
Join Carim on this great journey as He reaches the unsaved for Christ while continuing to encourage marriages and families. Visit his website for updates. Read all marriage articles on Jamaicans.com Visit our new website: www.MarriageVantagePoint.com Listen to our weekly podcasts: https://anchor.fm/carim-hyatt
Photo – Deposit PhotosÂ
