BOOKENDS
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:18-19
The bookends sitting on the shelf behind my desk have been a part of my life for about 45 years. Those two pyramid-shaped pieces of white polished stone were a gift from my parents in 1963 when I graduated from high school. One of the two bookends now has a chip, but they are not in bad condition, considering where they have been.
The bookends went to Cincinnati with me when I attended Mortuary Science College. When Charlyne and I married, those bookends moved to a new home, which was supposed to be for a lifetime. In 1974, after I had been called into the gospel ministry, the bookends traveled to Bible College, in the back of a rental truck with everything we owned. Sadly, those same bookends also left our home in 1985 and went with me to the far countries of life. After our remarriage, the bookends went right back on the same shelf from where they had started. After all of that, one small chip is not bad.
What do bookends do? Their task is uncomplicated. They simply hold upright a row of books. Have you ever considered what are the bookends of your stand for a restored marriage? In other words, what keeps your stand from tumbling? Just as my bookends may slide a bit from time to time and need to be tightened up and books straightened, both my bookends and your bookends will continue to stand.
On one end of your stand must be the bookend of God’s Holy Word, the Bible. It is not the words of man, nor any ministry that will keep you standing. It must be the promises of God. On the opposite end of your stand must be your prayer life.
Charlyne has been asked hundreds of times, in one way or another, “What did you do to get Bob home?†She simply made certain that her bookends of Bible and prayer were always in place. There was absolutely nothing that I could place between her bookends that they could not support.
The current task of my bookends is to support a row of three-ring notebooks. There is one problem. The notebooks are an irregular size. The front is thicker than the back. As a result, the bookends tend to slide a bit more, but they still do their job holding up my irregular books.
Does your stand for a restored marriage, supported by the bookends of prayer and the Bible, have to hold up some irregular books right now? In recent months, we have seen an explosion in the number of standers forced to deal with their prodigal’s non-covenant marriage to someone else or the birth of a child with the other person. Their bookends of standing are holding up some of the most irregular-sized books any marriage could be asked to endure.
Why are prodigals marrying others and having children in record number? Because the enemy thinks he knows what it will take to make you give up praying for your prodigal spouse. Is the evil one right? Let us stand together to prove him wrong. Resist thinking or saying, “If my husband/wife ever gets married/has a child with him/her, that’s it! I am giving up!†You have just told Satan what it would take to make you quit standing.
Not only is the enemy now wanting that event to take place, the one you love is being pressured and manipulated into that situation. All of these “other people†feel that an adulterous marriage will cause you to give up. If that does not work, or if your spouse will not mumble words about marriage to them, someone suddenly becomes pregnant! I have never known a prodigal spouse who was excited to be planning the birth of a child. Somehow it just happens!
Are you going to allow the irregular books of non-covenant marriage or childbirth to topple your bookends? Charlyne and I pray that you will not, but will continue to allow God to be your Comforter during those events.
Following the death of my parents, I acquired a second set of bookends. They were my bronzed baby shoes from over 55 years ago. It is difficult to imagine that my present-day size thirteen feet ever fit into those tiny objects, but I know they did.
It may be difficult for you to imagine that your present baby steps in marriage restoration will ever grow into a family restored by God, but they will. If you keep those bookends of prayer and the Bible in place, you can stand, regardless of the irregular books the enemy attempts to add.
Because He lives,
Bob Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:18-19
The bookends sitting on the shelf behind my desk have been a part of my life for about 45 years. Those two pyramid-shaped pieces of white polished stone were a gift from my parents in 1963 when I graduated from high school. One of the two bookends now has a chip, but they are not in bad condition, considering where they have been.
The bookends went to Cincinnati with me when I attended Mortuary Science College. When Charlyne and I married, those bookends moved to a new home, which was supposed to be for a lifetime. In 1974, after I had been called into the gospel ministry, the bookends traveled to Bible College, in the back of a rental truck with everything we owned. Sadly, those same bookends also left our home in 1985 and went with me to the far countries of life. After our remarriage, the bookends went right back on the same shelf from where they had started. After all of that, one small chip is not bad.
What do bookends do? Their task is uncomplicated. They simply hold upright a row of books. Have you ever considered what are the bookends of your stand for a restored marriage? In other words, what keeps your stand from tumbling? Just as my bookends may slide a bit from time to time and need to be tightened up and books straightened, both my bookends and your bookends will continue to stand.
On one end of your stand must be the bookend of God’s Holy Word, the Bible. It is not the words of man, nor any ministry that will keep you standing. It must be the promises of God. On the opposite end of your stand must be your prayer life.
Charlyne has been asked hundreds of times, in one way or another, “What did you do to get Bob home?†She simply made certain that her bookends of Bible and prayer were always in place. There was absolutely nothing that I could place between her bookends that they could not support.
The current task of my bookends is to support a row of three-ring notebooks. There is one problem. The notebooks are an irregular size. The front is thicker than the back. As a result, the bookends tend to slide a bit more, but they still do their job holding up my irregular books.
Does your stand for a restored marriage, supported by the bookends of prayer and the Bible, have to hold up some irregular books right now? In recent months, we have seen an explosion in the number of standers forced to deal with their prodigal’s non-covenant marriage to someone else or the birth of a child with the other person. Their bookends of standing are holding up some of the most irregular-sized books any marriage could be asked to endure.
Why are prodigals marrying others and having children in record number? Because the enemy thinks he knows what it will take to make you give up praying for your prodigal spouse. Is the evil one right? Let us stand together to prove him wrong. Resist thinking or saying, “If my husband/wife ever gets married/has a child with him/her, that’s it! I am giving up!†You have just told Satan what it would take to make you quit standing.
Not only is the enemy now wanting that event to take place, the one you love is being pressured and manipulated into that situation. All of these “other people†feel that an adulterous marriage will cause you to give up. If that does not work, or if your spouse will not mumble words about marriage to them, someone suddenly becomes pregnant! I have never known a prodigal spouse who was excited to be planning the birth of a child. Somehow it just happens!
Are you going to allow the irregular books of non-covenant marriage or childbirth to topple your bookends? Charlyne and I pray that you will not, but will continue to allow God to be your Comforter during those events.
Following the death of my parents, I acquired a second set of bookends. They were my bronzed baby shoes from over 55 years ago. It is difficult to imagine that my present-day size thirteen feet ever fit into those tiny objects, but I know they did.
It may be difficult for you to imagine that your present baby steps in marriage restoration will ever grow into a family restored by God, but they will. If you keep those bookends of prayer and the Bible in place, you can stand, regardless of the irregular books the enemy attempts to add.
Because He lives,
Bob Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
