In the process of reading through the Bible this year I came across Deuteronomy 24:5 today:

“A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.

Marriage is a wonderful blessing in my life.  I dearly love my wife and value her friendship. Its amazing that we’ve been married for 10 months already, with our one year anniversary right around the corner!

Though, I surely haven’t managed all my time and priorities with perfectly this year, I have tried. More specifically, I have tried over the past ten months to apply the principle of this verse to my own life as a newly married man by limiting the amount of conferences and mission trips and other kinds of travel that I do.

I don’t want to be away “at war” for long times during this first year when my wife needs the assurance of my foremost commitment and love for her. I know this first year is especially important to lay a healthy foundation for our marriage, and I really want to do it right. With God’s help, I think we are off to a great start so far, but I need His grace to be a good Christian and good husband. 

Priorities are tough to maintain, and sometimes it’s really hard to say no, but in certain situations, that’s what obedience requires.