Together

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Eccl 4:9-12, NIV)

Every January, I choose a word going into the new year. A word to redefine my focus, or remind me of something that God is teaching me, or sometimes just a nudge to push me in the direction I want to be going that year. I normally do this on my own, but this year, my wife, Marlina, and I chose the word together. Here’s the word we chose:

Together.

In the 4th quarter of 2024, God showed us that we were doing way too much apart. On our own. I did my thing, Marlina did her thing. But it was creating distance in our relationship. Emotionally, physically, spiritually, even geographically! (I traveled on 3 continents last year!) And after 40 years of marriage, instead of getting closer to each other, we were actually drifting apart.

So in December, we flew to Denver, Colorado together to take part in a week-long marriage intensive. It was fabulous! And I also know why they call them intensives. It was intense. But it was so, so good for us. Not only for our marriage, but for our ministry. We made the decision that from this point forward, we were going to do more and more together.

Work together. Pray together. Read together. Play together. Grandparent together. Farm together. Travel together. We even drafted a 7-point vision statement for our marriage. You wanna guess the first word in our vision statement?

Yep. Together.

How about you friend? Where might God be prompting you to be more intentional about together?

• It could be, like us, God is directing you to be more intentional about togetherness in your marriage.
• Or He could be nudging you to collaborate on a book, a podcast, or a another project together with someone else.
• Or he could be reminding you to go deeper and be more intentional in your friendships. Do meals together. Vacation together. Do a Bible study together.
• Or maybe He’s simply inviting you to join Him in His work, verses trying to do it on your own. To work together with Him. How amazing is that?

So stop going it alone. We were made to live life together! And together, we can accomplish so much more.