Dear Beloved,
I hope this letter finds you well, in good health, and enjoying the goodness and faithfulness of God in your life and family.
Today, as I was reflecting on some of the beautiful moments we shared in the past, something important came to my mind. I remembered how married men used to meet every Sunday afternoon, while married women gathered every Wednesday afternoon. These were not just ordinary meetings where people came together to pass time. They were special moments set aside for married people to fellowship, share their experiences, encourage one another, learn, and pray about their marriages.
I have been away for quite a long time now, and I must confess that I miss those moments. I miss the conversations, the wisdom shared, the encouragement, and the opportunity to hear how other people were navigating the journey of marriage. Looking back, I realize that those meetings were more valuable than some of us may have understood at the time.
The main reason I am writing this letter is to remind you of the importance of such gatherings. I sincerely hope that you have continued attending them. If, for one reason or another, you have stopped, I want to encourage you to reconsider and make time for them once again.
Marriage is a beautiful institution, but it is also a journey that requires continuous learning, patience, wisdom, understanding, and grace. Nobody enters marriage knowing everything. Even those who have been married for many years are still learning. Every season of marriage presents its own challenges, and sometimes the knowledge we need to overcome those challenges comes through listening to the experiences of others.
I strongly believe that a marriage does not grow through prayer alone, but also through the application of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Prayer is important, but we must never use prayer as a substitute for learning what we need to know. God has placed people around us whose experiences can teach us lessons that might otherwise take years of pain and struggle to discover.
I remember a certain pastor who once shared a story with us. It was a simple story, but its message has remained with me for many years. According to the pastor, there was a married woman who had developed a habit of missing the Wednesday afternoon meetings organized for married women. While other women gathered to discuss marriage, share experiences, learn from one another, and pray together, she chose not to attend. Time passed, and eventually her marriage began experiencing serious difficulties. Things became so difficult that she could no longer bear the situation. Troubled and desperate for a solution, she rushed to the pastor and explained everything that was happening in her home.
Hebrews 10:25 : And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
I hope this letter finds you well, in good health, and enjoying the goodness and faithfulness of God in your life and family.
Today, as I was reflecting on some of the beautiful moments we shared in the past, something important came to my mind. I remembered how married men used to meet every Sunday afternoon, while married women gathered every Wednesday afternoon. These were not just ordinary meetings where people came together to pass time. They were special moments set aside for married people to fellowship, share their experiences, encourage one another, learn, and pray about their marriages.
I have been away for quite a long time now, and I must confess that I miss those moments. I miss the conversations, the wisdom shared, the encouragement, and the opportunity to hear how other people were navigating the journey of marriage. Looking back, I realize that those meetings were more valuable than some of us may have understood at the time.
The main reason I am writing this letter is to remind you of the importance of such gatherings. I sincerely hope that you have continued attending them. If, for one reason or another, you have stopped, I want to encourage you to reconsider and make time for them once again.
Marriage is a beautiful institution, but it is also a journey that requires continuous learning, patience, wisdom, understanding, and grace. Nobody enters marriage knowing everything. Even those who have been married for many years are still learning. Every season of marriage presents its own challenges, and sometimes the knowledge we need to overcome those challenges comes through listening to the experiences of others.
I strongly believe that a marriage does not grow through prayer alone, but also through the application of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Prayer is important, but we must never use prayer as a substitute for learning what we need to know. God has placed people around us whose experiences can teach us lessons that might otherwise take years of pain and struggle to discover.
I remember a certain pastor who once shared a story with us. It was a simple story, but its message has remained with me for many years. According to the pastor, there was a married woman who had developed a habit of missing the Wednesday afternoon meetings organized for married women. While other women gathered to discuss marriage, share experiences, learn from one another, and pray together, she chose not to attend. Time passed, and eventually her marriage began experiencing serious difficulties. Things became so difficult that she could no longer bear the situation. Troubled and desperate for a solution, she rushed to the pastor and explained everything that was happening in her home.
The pastor listened carefully as she poured out her frustrations, disappointments, and struggles. When she had finished explaining her situation, he asked her one simple question. "Do you attend the married women's meetings on Wednesdays?" "No," she answered.
The pastor immediately understood something that the woman had failed to recognize. Many of the issues troubling her marriage were the very issues being discussed during those Wednesday meetings. Other women had faced similar challenges, overcome them, and were sharing the lessons they had learned. Had she been attending those gatherings, she might have gained the knowledge and understanding necessary to recognize and address some of those problems before they became serious.
The woman, however, had come to the pastor for prayer. She wanted him to pray so that her marriage could be restored. And because that was what she requested, the pastor prayed for her. But the pastor knew that prayer alone would not provide the practical knowledge she was missing. She needed to learn certain things about marriage. She needed wisdom, guidance, and a better understanding of how to handle the situations she was facing. Much of that knowledge had been available to her every Wednesday afternoon, but she had repeatedly failed to show up.
Whenever I remember this story, I am reminded of an important truth: Sometimes we suffer unnecessarily, not because solutions are unavailable, but because we have neglected the places where those solutions are being taught.
This is why I am writing to you today. I do not want you to become like that woman. I do not want you to wait until your marriage is facing serious difficulties before seeking the knowledge that could help you nurture and strengthen it today.
Please remember that you do not have to be experiencing problems in your marriage to attend a marriage meeting. In fact, the best time to acquire knowledge is before you desperately need it. We do not wait until our houses are on fire before learning about fire safety. In the same way, we should not wait until our marriages are falling apart before learning how to build and protect them.
I also want to remind you that this principle goes beyond marriage. Always make time for meetings, fellowships, seminars, and discussions that can build your life. Attend gatherings where people discuss parenting, family relationships, financial management, personal development, spiritual growth, and social responsibilities.
If you are a parent, learn from other parents. If you are married, learn from other married people. If you desire financial stability, seek knowledge from those who understand financial discipline and stewardship. If you want to grow spiritually, remain connected to gatherings where the Word of God is taught and where believers encourage one another.
There is something valuable about sitting among people who have walked a journey longer than you have. Their experiences can become your lessons, their mistakes can become your warnings, and their victories can become your encouragement.
Of course, not every piece of advice we receive will be suitable for our circumstances. We must exercise wisdom and discernment. Nevertheless, refusing to learn from others because we believe we already know enough can be a costly mistake.
My dear friend, never allow busyness, familiarity, or complacency to rob you of opportunities to grow. I know that life comes with many responsibilities. There is work to do, children to raise, bills to pay, and countless demands competing for our time. But among all these responsibilities, we must deliberately create time for the things that strengthen our families and enrich our lives.
A healthy marriage does not happen by accident. It is nurtured through deliberate effort, continuous learning, honest communication, forgiveness, patience, and the grace of God.
As I conclude, I want you to remember that the value of a meeting is not measured by the number of people who attend, but by the wisdom, encouragement, and transformation that those who attend carry back home.
Perhaps one lesson shared during a Wednesday or Sunday meeting could save someone from making a costly mistake. Perhaps one testimony could restore hope to a discouraged husband or wife. Perhaps one conversation could help someone understand a spouse better. And perhaps one piece of wisdom could prevent a marriage from entering a season of unnecessary pain.
That is why I encourage you, with all sincerity, to continue attending those meetings. Do not take them for granted. Make time for them, participate actively, listen carefully, and apply the lessons that are relevant to your life.
And as you grow in knowledge and experience, remember that you, too, have something valuable to share. Someone else may be waiting to learn from a lesson that life has already taught you.
I may be far away, and I may have missed many of those precious gatherings, but my heart still appreciates their value. My prayer is that you will continue growing in wisdom, understanding, and grace, and that your marriage and family will become stronger with every passing season.
Never wait for a crisis to seek the wisdom that could have prevented it.
May God bless you, strengthen your marriage, and grant you the humility to keep learning throughout your life.
With love, concern, and warm regards,
Your Friend
The pastor immediately understood something that the woman had failed to recognize. Many of the issues troubling her marriage were the very issues being discussed during those Wednesday meetings. Other women had faced similar challenges, overcome them, and were sharing the lessons they had learned. Had she been attending those gatherings, she might have gained the knowledge and understanding necessary to recognize and address some of those problems before they became serious.
The woman, however, had come to the pastor for prayer. She wanted him to pray so that her marriage could be restored. And because that was what she requested, the pastor prayed for her. But the pastor knew that prayer alone would not provide the practical knowledge she was missing. She needed to learn certain things about marriage. She needed wisdom, guidance, and a better understanding of how to handle the situations she was facing. Much of that knowledge had been available to her every Wednesday afternoon, but she had repeatedly failed to show up.
Whenever I remember this story, I am reminded of an important truth: Sometimes we suffer unnecessarily, not because solutions are unavailable, but because we have neglected the places where those solutions are being taught.
This is why I am writing to you today. I do not want you to become like that woman. I do not want you to wait until your marriage is facing serious difficulties before seeking the knowledge that could help you nurture and strengthen it today.
Please remember that you do not have to be experiencing problems in your marriage to attend a marriage meeting. In fact, the best time to acquire knowledge is before you desperately need it. We do not wait until our houses are on fire before learning about fire safety. In the same way, we should not wait until our marriages are falling apart before learning how to build and protect them.
I also want to remind you that this principle goes beyond marriage. Always make time for meetings, fellowships, seminars, and discussions that can build your life. Attend gatherings where people discuss parenting, family relationships, financial management, personal development, spiritual growth, and social responsibilities.
If you are a parent, learn from other parents. If you are married, learn from other married people. If you desire financial stability, seek knowledge from those who understand financial discipline and stewardship. If you want to grow spiritually, remain connected to gatherings where the Word of God is taught and where believers encourage one another.
There is something valuable about sitting among people who have walked a journey longer than you have. Their experiences can become your lessons, their mistakes can become your warnings, and their victories can become your encouragement.
Of course, not every piece of advice we receive will be suitable for our circumstances. We must exercise wisdom and discernment. Nevertheless, refusing to learn from others because we believe we already know enough can be a costly mistake.
My dear friend, never allow busyness, familiarity, or complacency to rob you of opportunities to grow. I know that life comes with many responsibilities. There is work to do, children to raise, bills to pay, and countless demands competing for our time. But among all these responsibilities, we must deliberately create time for the things that strengthen our families and enrich our lives.
A healthy marriage does not happen by accident. It is nurtured through deliberate effort, continuous learning, honest communication, forgiveness, patience, and the grace of God.
As I conclude, I want you to remember that the value of a meeting is not measured by the number of people who attend, but by the wisdom, encouragement, and transformation that those who attend carry back home.
Perhaps one lesson shared during a Wednesday or Sunday meeting could save someone from making a costly mistake. Perhaps one testimony could restore hope to a discouraged husband or wife. Perhaps one conversation could help someone understand a spouse better. And perhaps one piece of wisdom could prevent a marriage from entering a season of unnecessary pain.
That is why I encourage you, with all sincerity, to continue attending those meetings. Do not take them for granted. Make time for them, participate actively, listen carefully, and apply the lessons that are relevant to your life.
And as you grow in knowledge and experience, remember that you, too, have something valuable to share. Someone else may be waiting to learn from a lesson that life has already taught you.
I may be far away, and I may have missed many of those precious gatherings, but my heart still appreciates their value. My prayer is that you will continue growing in wisdom, understanding, and grace, and that your marriage and family will become stronger with every passing season.
Never wait for a crisis to seek the wisdom that could have prevented it.
May God bless you, strengthen your marriage, and grant you the humility to keep learning throughout your life.
With love, concern, and warm regards,
Your Friend
