Triangles are everywhere. Any structure requiring a strong rigid construction depends on triangles to achieve that goal. Even though you may not see it, triangles are at work everywhere.
A triangle is the strongest of the shapes. Squares and rectangles react to force changing the parallelogram. Polygons flex under pressure. A triangle, when put together, the rigid sides are anchored to each other. Push it around anyway you like, as long as the sides are anchored, it can resist the impact of the stress that is placed on each side.
Many of those shapes in construction get their strength from being reinforced with triangles inside them. What a strength God has created for His Church and our marriages. Inside the triangle, the closer we are to God, the closer we are to our spouse. Separate the sides, however, we are farther away from God and our spouse and each piece of the triangle by itself can begin to crumble easily under stress. Until there is nothing left.
You and your spouse make up the two sides of the triangle and the base becomes the connection you create. God is the anchor that holds the pieces together as you and your spouse lean in to one another and to God. Without God in the picture your triangle has no hinge to anchor on. Without the connection between you and your spouse you leave an opening for sin to infiltrate God’s design and this will only push you further apart to eventually collapse the triangle into a straight line that can be tossed in the wind.
This shape in marriage helps us when we fall short of commitment on our part. We can still lean in on the one who hasn’t stopped holding us through the thick and the thin. Inside this institution, the triangle, is best show by the angles. Your sixty-degree angle is always met by the other two sixty-degree angles held by your spouse and God. You, your spouse and God, all leaning in on the relationship. All giving an effort to hold the other up. If your triangle becomes lopsided God’s still holding it together. It just is no longer in equal shares. Giving up breaks that triangle. So, don’t lose hope. Stand and stay connected.
In those marriages that a husband and wife distance themselves from one another, it is important to note that God hasn’t stopped holding on. Our God will always hold up His end of the covenant. Because of that promise, our God still holds on to us. Which means all that needs repaired is for us to stand up and draw closer to Him and in the process of loving ourselves the way God intended and seeking God, we will seek to love our spouse that way. Thus, mending the torn connection in our marriage and once again becoming one through the divine institution God intended. Yes, it may take work and time. But the blood and sweat and tears you pour out isn’t even close to the amount that Jesus shed for each of us individually.
I believe that the odds are in our favor when we are seeking the right model of what marriage should look like. Let’s keep our eyes on the things above and let Him handle the things we can’t.
