War of the Roses

Trailer #1
The War of the Roses at MOVIECLIPS.com

This is a clip of a 1989 movie called "War of the Roses" and although it is hilarious, the antics they succumb to are not that far off from depicting the attitudes, emotions, and behaviors of some of today's marriages.

Obviously this is NOT a Christian movie.  Therefore the couple in this film are NOT saved. BUT in comparison with couple's that ARE saved - how different are they or rather how similar?

If we are honest, we can identify with some of the attitudes and behaviors, although not as extreme as in this clip, but we ourselves possess similar ones during trying times.

From the outside looking in it seemed like a happy marriage - a fairy tale that I'm sure their friends admired.  This couple had it all: a great marriage, social life, wealth and success. Yet behind closed doors was another life.



I remember watching this film with my husband, and I laughed so much not only because it was hilarious but because I related to what she was saying at times.  Especially the scene where she tells her husband "When I watch you eat, when I look at you lately, I want to smash your face in"!

There was a time in our early years of marriage that was rocky and we learned to wear the "all is well" mask.  In the presence of others, especially in church, we were a loving godly couple and once we were behind closed doors the masks came off.  Everything that 1 Corinthians 13 says love is, we lacked.  We were not kind, we DID keep score, we hurt one another.....

We were "love struck" then.  What happened?  Jealousy, insecurities, financial hardships, our children (his and mine).  It just seemed like the pressures turned us against one another through time.  I was scared because my heart grew cold and I no longer was in love.  I wanted out! I want to do what I knew best to do: RUN!

Everything began to annoy me, but unlike this movie, I cried out to God because I knew that He was the One that brought us together.  That knowledge is what gave me hope.  So I desperately prayed for intervention.  I asked God to remove the negative thoughts that were producing negative feelings.  I prayed that God will allow me to see my husband the way He saw him.  I pleaded for God to pour love back into my heart for him.

"In my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears. (2 Samuel 22:7)

Yes! Everything I prayed for, God answered and our relationship was restored. It was not overnight but God began to work in BOTH our hearts. Attitudes began to change and our behavior followed.  Not to say that we didn't encounter conflicts or found ourselves again in "heated fellowship" but we learned to handle it differently with God's help.

My greatest awe in all this was the overwhelming love He poured in my heart for my husband where there was none.  He never ceases to amaze me because He is an amazing God!

If your marriage is growing sour and the "love" has become bitter, don't fret.  What may look like an end can be turned into a beginning because that's the kind of God we serve.  He takes what was meant for harm and turn it around for the good!

Ask, Seek and Knock and just watch Him turn it around for you too!  God bless!