Holding This Fort
Our reconnaisance of the weaponry poised against the fort of ministry marriage is now finished. Together, we have held a flashlight to as many mortars and grenades as we could find. We have seen what they can do in the lives of others no less worthy than ourselves. We have also found that there is no all-purpose invention for defense. Counseling helps sometimes, but not always. Prayer has rescued more than one couple in trouble, but others have seemed unable to break through to God on their knees. Planning, careful scheduling, systems: these all have their place—and their limitations. Openness and honesty are musts in a marriage, but not even they are the whole answer. We are cast rather into the need for eternal vigilance, responding with variable tactics to the great variety of enemies. Many of our foes are in fact quiet; they do not announce their coming with the shrill whine of a missile. They work unnoticed as long as they can. All of us believe the proper things about Christian marriage. We teach the biblical concepts in premarital counseling and on couples' retreats. But when it comes to our own daily living in the castle of marriage, our doctrine is simply a platform alongside the bulwark. It elevates us into superior position. What we do upon the platform is still up to us. All of the ministry couples whose experiences have been told in this book would endorse the orthodox precepts. But that did not prevent them from coming under attack. Action based on truth is what it takes to hold the fort. The action will no doubt require all the energy we have. It will press us to our limits. It will force us to concentrate when we would rather daydream. It will require us to listen carefully when we would rather sleep. And the times ...
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