This last year has been a journey for my wife and I. Earlier last year, we attended a youth ministry-focused marriage retreat. It was great, and at the end, they gave us several books. One of them was Closer: 52 Devotions to Draw Couples Together by Jim and Cathy Burns. We had been looking for a good devotional, and here, one was given to us for free. So, we started to meet weekly for lunch, read through the devo for that week, and discuss it. It has been a great resource for us, so we wanted to pass it on to others.
This book is filled with 52 devotions that are usually between three and four pages in length. There is a Scripture, a short thought from the authors, and some discussion questions. Sometimes, they even have “homework” for you and your spouse. While some topics were perfect for us to discuss, others were not as critical. Don’t get me wrong – our marriage is far from perfect, but there some things we struggle with more than others, and there are other things we don’t struggle with as much right now.
One of the biggest things that we gained from this book was to have a daily prayer time. The authors mentioned that a couple that prays together stays together. So, we started praying every night together for a couple minutes about our marriage, and it has been great. Another thing we learned was that marriages need to have different meeting times throughout the week. One is a time for prayer, another is a time for spiritual discussion, and another is a business meeting. This is still something we are working on putting in our schedule, but we love the idea. Another idea we gained was to start a journal of all the things we appreciate about each other.
We could go on and on about the advantages of this devotional book, but instead, we will leave the book to speak for itself. Do yourself a favor – carve out a little room in your busy week to have a purposeful devotional time with your spouse. And if you’re looking for something to get you started, try out this book. We don’t think you will be disappointed.
Steve Cullum 