All of us at one have been single and free from the burdens of responsibility. During that freedom many of us come in contact with the opposite sex and fall in love. It’s during this process that we want to trade our singleness to marriedness because of the love we have for that person. We choose to remove the freedom we have experienced and take on the responsibility of being married with all that entails.

What we do to cultivate that relationship is all important. Life happens. Conflicts emerge. Problems surface. Temptations occur. What we do when these thing occur is critical if we are to see our marriage grow and enrich over time. Solomon speaks to this issue when he says, “Drink water from your own cistern, water flowing from your own well. Should your springs flow in the streets, streams in the public squares? They should be for you alone and not for you to share with strangers. Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth. A loving deer, a graceful doe — let her breasts always satisfy you; be lost in her love forever.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭5:15-19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Solomon knew that problems would come in marriage. Of any person, he would know. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. I’ve never had a concubine, so I don’t know what their responsibilities are, but I couldn’t imagine 700 wives. Not 300. Not 50. Not 5. One wife is enough to take care of let alone 700. But with all of these relationships, Solomon talks about ‘taking pleasure in the wife of your youth”. Solomon was a man and talked about his relationships with his wife. If you are a female and married, you could as well substitute your husband in place of your wife (except for the breasts being satisfying to you). Maybe he realized that God’s plan of having one wife/husband was a better plan than what he experienced in his life. He realized that focusing on the wife of one’s youth by allowing her physical beauty of her breasts was the ultimate satisfaction. Being lost in her love forever is a powerful statement. Focusing on our wife forever and being lost in all her qualities and attributes that she brings to the table is the secret to marital enrichment.

On this journey, we need to cultivate that relationships that God has given us. Focusing on our spouse and being lost in love for them is a good step each of us could work on today and forever.