📖“11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.
📖12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.” (Song of Solomon 7:11–12)
🐘🐃🐩🐏🐁🐇🦍🐄🫏🦨🦡Today, we are looking at another powerful catalyst that causes spouses to fall in love with each other anew. That catalyst is RETREATS.
🐄Yes, retreats!
🐏As a believer, you are familiar with spiritual retreats—a time to leave everything else aside and be with the Lord for spiritual renewal! And by the time you come out from it, you are stronger and sharper in your spirit man. You are in love with the Lord afresh.
🐇Marital retreats are similar: they lead to renewed affection, fired-up passion, and, sometimes, a much stronger sex drive.
🐘🐃🐩🐏🐁🐇🦍🐄🫏🦨THERE COMES A TIME TO GET APART
It is absolutely true that marriage gives birth to the family and the household, and they all dwell together in the same place.
🐘However, it is expedient for the couple to periodically get apart and be alone once again, just as they were at the beginning of their union. Why? Because the demands and needs of the family and household, and their sustenance, could sometimes make the couple so overworked and overwhelmed that they become romantically blunted as a result of attending to everyone else but themselves.
🐃A similar scenario developed in the ministry of Christ.
🐩At a time, there were so many people to be ministered to that the disciples could not find time to eat their meals! How did Jesus solve it? He did not prioritize ministry above the well-being of the twelve men who worked with Him. He got the work wisely halted and took the twelve on a rest retreat! Please, read:
📖“31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
📖32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.” (Mark 6:31–32).
🐘🐃🐩🐏🐁🐇🦍🐄🫏🦨PERIODIC RETREATS ARE CRITICAL FOR LONG-LASTING ROMANTIC MARRIAGES
In our anchor scripture, the lady proposed to her spouse that they set out on a love retreat. Let us settle for a while and consider her proposal.
📖“11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.
📖12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.” (Song of Solomon 7:11–12)
🦍🐄(1) SHE SUGGESTED A TRIP.
This lady suggested a trip. She wanted them to change their environment for a while: move from the hustle and bustle of city life to the quiet countryside and lodge in the village for some days for a change. This is romantic wisdom.
🐏Sir/Ma, there is no doubting the fact that your home and career are important. But it is important to also remember that your marriage is very important too and deserves to be taken aside and serviced. And that is what a love retreat is for: specially servicing your love lives and fixing new “spare parts” where necessary.
🐄🫏(2) SHE SUGGESTED GOING INTO THE FIELD.
In verses 11 and 12, the lady mentioned going into the field. Why? Because nature, with its grasses, trees, and other features of the vegetation and relief system—hills, rocks, boulders, and soil—provides the mind and body with a new ambience that seems to breathe freshness into our very being, reinvigorating us.
🐩Just think of tourists travelling from cosmopolitan North American and European cities and coming to African tourist sites: villages, game reserves, waterfalls, etc. It is that same desire to get in touch with nature and be refreshed.
🦍So, travelling to places where you can experience nature helps to get you and your spouse to fall in love anew as your minds are refreshed.
🐏🐃(3) SHE SUGGESTED GETTING UP EARLY TO THE VINEYARDS.
In verse 12, the lady dropped a bomb. She told her man that they should go out to the farms very early in the morning. Again, what for? To see nature as the day was breaking and use those amazing moments to build new memories into their love lives.
🦡Put more plainly, the lady said that when they had finished sightseeing at dawn, she would strip right there in the field and they would make love. Why? Because, at that time, people were not out in the fields yet, and they would not be seen.
🐄The lesson here is that she was willing and desirous for them to do something novel, uncommon, and adventurous.
🐏So, the point we will pick here is this: spouses should learn to do something novel, uncommon, and adventurous in their mutual love lives.
🐇Learn to get novel and adventurous in your practice of love. Attempt new things together, so long as they are within the boundaries of holiness and righteousness.
🐘🐃🐩🐏🐁🐇🦍🐄🫏🦨CONCLUSION: A STRONG NOTE OF CAUTION!!!
However, it is important to say that, in our modern world where there are Android phones, spying cameras, CCTV cameras, etc., spouses must be very cautious.
🐃Obviously, you should not attempt making love in some countryside farm as the lady proposed in verse 12. That proposal was practicable in the ancient world. But attempting such in our day is hazardous, as you may be shocked and embarrassed to see your pictures splashed all over the internet.
🐩So, know your limits when on a love retreat in a beautiful location far away from your home.
🐘Wisdom is profitable to direct. (Ecclesiastes 10:10b).
🐃And, “be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16b).🦨🦡
💕♥️Tonight’s Bedroom Assignment:Re-read this devotional together just before bedtime and discuss it with open and sincere hearts.
✝️Altar Call:Jesus Christ is calling you! Come to Him today in genuine repentance. Believe in Him and be saved!
🧪⚗️Scientific Info To Boost Your Marriage:
🔬”Regular physical intimacy helps the body defend against pathogens. Studies show that couples who have sex once or twice a week have significantly higher levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) in their saliva compared to those who are sexually inactive. IgA is the body’s first line of defense against colds, viruses, and other infections.”🔬
📢HALLELUJAH!
🎷PRAISE THE LORD!