The Power of Jesus is on Display at Our Marriage Getaways!

“In sharp contrast with our culture, the Bible teaches that the essence of marriage is a sacrificial commitment to the good of the other. That means that love is more fundamentally action than emotion.”

Tim Keller

Many people look at photos of Ken and me and say, “Look at them, they’re always smiling… what a happy couple!” In one sense, they are right. Ken and I are very happy. But our smiles do not come easily. Even now, after almost 40 years of life together, the joy in our marriage is vigorously hard-fought for.

Ken and I may casually say to one another, “I love you,” but my quadriplegia keeps demanding that we prove it.

Marriage-love is proved in the middle of the night when Ken must get up for the fourth time to help me cough or blow my nose when I’m sick. For other families with special needs, marriage-love is proved when dad comes home tired from work yet drops everything to tend to their child with disabilities so mom can take a breather.

Husbands and wives are constantly dealing with insurance hassles, back pain, feeding tubes, burn-out, hospital visits, shortage of help, toileting routines… and when it comes to their child with a disability, behavior challenges, school absence, and sibling rivalry. It’s constant… it’s isolating… and a threat to everyone’s sanity.

Oh, how Jesus is needed!

When couples cast their cares on him, they find hope, strength, and a deeper love for Christ and each other. The grace of Jesus empowers a husband and wife to keep love at the center, even when disability feels overwhelming. Can you see why Joni and Friends Marriage Getaways are essential? Where else will these isolated families hear the Gospel of our Savior?!

When you support our Retreats and Getaways, you are helping couples discover strength in Christ through their most devastating weaknesses. Disability may expose how desperate needs are, but a Marriage Getaway shows couples where true marriage-love is found… always in our Lord Jesus.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

–Joni Eareckson Tada