When God is at the center of our marriage

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV)

 When God is at the center of our marriage and He is the most important Person in our relationships, His love brings us into unity and oneness. When His love motivates us, we can know that we are pleasing Him, even if the response from our partner might not always be what we would hope for.
 Giving love to others isn’t a contract designed to get what we want in exchange. It is a gift freely given without the expectation of reciprocation. Sometimes we do things for our partner, expecting them to reciprocate. We do something nice for them and we want them to do something nice for us in return. Many times, that will happen because love begets love, but we may not see that return come back to us in the way or at the time we hope for.
 If we are motivated by what we expect to get back, then what we’re giving is not fully given in love. Let’s try to model Jesus’ love instead; He gave everything for us, knowing that we could never repay Him. —Maria Fontaine [1]

 Great marriages don’t happen by luck or by accident. They are the result of a consistent investment of time, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, affection, prayer, mutual respect, and a rock-solid commitment between a husband and a wife.” —Dave Willis

[1] Activated Priorities in Marriage