Genesis 27:21  Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” (NLT)

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Ike and Becky had a storybook beginning. Like most stories, something knocked them off balance along the way. Ike grew old before his time. He thought he was dying years before he went the way of all the earth. 

Becky lost that loving feeling. She became much more interested in grandchildren than her daughters-in-law and her wild hare of a son. 

She thought her pregnancy was hard. Life was about to get really hard as she and Ike selected separate favorites of their twins. The birthright, the blessing, and the future came down to which spouse succeeded in manipulating circumstances in their favor. 

Becky was the kind of gal who hated coming in second place. Ike was the kind of guy who loved a hearty bowl of stew, an overflowing cup, and a good game on the tube. It’s not hard to imagine how Becky was able to beat him in the game of life. 

Ike and Becky allowed their children to become a wedge between them. Playing favorites will do that. Apparently, the boys got in on the game and took advantage of the split. Ike wasn’t sure he could trust the bearer of steaming stew was really his favorite son. Becky arranged for that possibility. Jacob, the smooth deceiver, was covered in goat hair to feel and smell like his brother. You are forgiven for thinking he deserved to win if Esau smelled like a goat. 

Marriages teeter, totter, and fall when trust is violated. Marital bliss bubbles burst, and marriage intimacy dries up when couples manipulate one another. How sad that this storybook relationship sagged so sorrowfully in the middle. 

People of a certain age hear You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling by The Righteous Brothers as the soundtrack of this scene. (https://bit.ly/3PqlCVh)

On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest and best, where would you rate your marriage trust and intimacy? If you need to move from the middle to the top, how can you make that happen through kindness and tenderhearted service?

If you need to go together to a relationship expert like a Christian counselor, you follow in the steps of just about every wise married couple ever. Every marriage requires course corrections and maintenance. One couple says, “We can’t afford to see a counselor.” Another couple says, “We can’t afford not to.” This is a good opportunity to rearrange the budget.

You might not need a counselor at all. Maybe you need to rehearse how you met and when you knew you were in love. Maybe you need to remember what brought you together in the first place. Maybe you need to remember those days when your formal names, like Isaac and Rebekah, were more common than their casual replacements. 

Days of discovering one another’s likes, loves, and preferences create the kinds of memories that provide gentle laughter and tender affection across a lifetime together. _Do You Remember When_ is a good game for married couples. _I Like it When_ is another. 

Don’t allow a hairy hedonist or a smooth criminal to come between you and your beloved. Two hearts and two minds faithfully and forever united win over every attempt to drive wedges between them.

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I will stay strongly united to my bride now and forever.

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Our Father, thank you for loving us so much that you gave us one another. Thank you for so many pleasant memories and so much deep affection that nothing can separate what you have brought together. Thank you for providing a path of grace and mercy for those whose deep joy has endured deep betrayal. Thank you for loving us through the hard times, blessing us with simpler times, and leading us through this time no matter where we stand. Thank you for never losing your loving feelings for us. Amen.