During deployments, when I don't have my husband to keep up half the night with my rambling thoughts and random contemplations, I have some pretty hefty things that sit on my mind.
My current contemplation is how to best "keep covenant" with my husband when he is on the other side of the planet. We, by being married under God, are in a covenant relationship with one another. Keeping covenant means much more than just being faithful, it refers to the daily actions of the heart, body, and mind that maintain and nurture the covenant relationship. Unfortunately, during a 6 month deployment, it is tempting to disregard the covenant. Now, I don't mean I want to run off and have an affair. I mean that it is challenging to figure out how to maintain and nurture the relationship. I want to just say... "Hey, go have a nice 6 months and we'll catch up when you get back." While that choice may be convenient for the moment, it is obviously unwise.
As I've contemplated my marriage covenant, it has forced me to consider my holy covenant with God as well. He brought me into covenant with Himself, adopting me as His child, through the death and resurrection of Christ. This covenant relationship, while permanent, requires covenant keeping on my part in order to experience the fullest blessings. It requires daily activities of my heart, body, and mind to maintain and nurture the relationship. But, like my husband, God is not exactly here right now. So, until Christ returns it is tempting to say... "Hey, go have a nice time building the house in heaven and we'll catch up when you get back."
My relationship with God, and my relationship with Mark are both covenants, covenants that need constant maintenance to be kept strong. I could ignore God and Mark for the next 6 months -- I would still be a Christian, and I would still be married, but I would lose all the blessings that come with "keeping covenant".
So how do I keep covenant with a husband on the other side of the planet and God on the other side of reality?
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