Little Things Mean a Lot 
by Dr. Gary Chapman

How does a husband and wife develop a sense of closeness in spiritual matters?  Remember the old saying, "little things mean a lot?"  No where is that truer than in the spiritual realm.

Holding hands in church during the prayer time, singing hymns or praise songs as you stand beside each other, giving an elderly lady a ride to church, reading a Bible story to the children, praying with each other or with the children, sharing a Scripture verse that one of you found exciting, or a paragraph from a devotional book, washing dishes together at the local soup kitchen, or participating in a worship service at the nursing home, these are the little things that build spiritual intimacy.

I know that some of you are thinking, "I wish my spouse would do some of those things with me."  That is a good desire, but don't waste your life waiting.  You take initiative and see what happens.  Many spouses will never come up with these ideas, but they will respond if you take the lead. 

Article written by Dr. Gary Chapman.  Based on the book,  Now You're Speaking My Language by Dr. Gary Chapman. Published by Moody Publishing.  For a complete listing of Dr. Chapman's books and resources, click here.     

What is this mystery of marriage?   

It began in the Garden of Eden when God himself fashioned a women perfectly suited to Adam and "brought her to the man" (Genesis 2:22).   

From Genesis 2:24 we glean this divine description of marriage: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."   

So from the earliest pages of Scripture, we see that marriage - an exclusive, passionate, and permanent relationship between a man and a woman - owes its very existence to God.