In the book, “Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage”, by H. Wallace Goddard, PhD he says, “He is entrusting the work of ministering to those whom He knows and trusts, those who have made covenants with Him. He promises you and me that, when He comes again, He will repay anything we invest in helping and healing His children.”
As I read that quote I was reminded of the story that Elder Wirthlin shared in his talk, “The Great Commandment”. In this talk he shares the story of an elderly couple who had been married for several decades. As they aged the woman began to lose her sight, and wasn’t able to take care of herself and her appearance as she once did. So, the husband, without being asked started painting her nails for her. This made her smile and because he would do anything to make her happy he continued this service for the next five years until she passed away. This is such an endearing story to me, and one that is filled with charity and the pure love of Christ.
As I reflect on my own marriage, it fills me with joy to know that when the time comes, and my husband and I are aging and struggling to fulfill daily tasks, I know without a doubt that we will be able to find ways to provide similar services to one another, as the couple in that story.
I have found in our twenty years of marriage that it is not the grandiose gifts, the trips to exotic places, or even dinners out that has united us or brought us to know that we love one another. It has been the small acts of service that has meant the most. It is the times that my husband does the dishes, reads a bedtime story to the kids, folds the laundry, fills my car up with gas, brings in a single flower from the garden, and so on. It is those small acts of charity that have become some of the greatest investment we have made in our marriage.
What are ways that you have seen charity in your marriage or the marriage of someone you know?
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