A Cord of Three

 By: Joanne Viola

 

My husband and I have always said, if there is an easy way to do something, it always ends up being the hard way for us. No matter how we may think it through and plan it out, it usually ends up being harder than we originally had thought.

Sure my husband and I became a couple, were married, the day we exchanged our vows in the church in which I grew up.

Yet the strength of our love, the security in it, grew as we navigated challenges and hardships together.

It wasn’t our marriage certificate which solidified our relationship. It was each time we thought we couldn’t make it through; each time we stood shoulder to shoulder. It was then that we found strength from one another.

“Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it;
If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised.”
(Song of Solomon 8:7, NASB)

Perhaps the Beatles had it right when they sand, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” Money cannot secure or strengthen love.

It is truly a wonder the way love grows.

Hard days can, in fact, cause relationships to develop, strengthen, and grow deep in ways the easy days cannot.

Marriages and friendships can blossom through difficulties forging a bond which cannot be broken. Qualities and strengths are discovered and develop over the course of time.

Scripture tells us:

“A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:12, NASB)

There is a strength which comes from unity. It is important to have strong bonds with God and with other people.

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.
But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?
And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him.
A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NASB) 

 

We need God and others as we go through life
for encouragement, protection, and companionship.
We need a cord of three.

 

 

Reflection:
Take time to think about those with whom you have shared experiences. What were the qualities you came to appreciate? Take time to thank God for placing them in your life. And take time to thank them for sticking in your life.

 

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