Last week twenty-six couples from a dozen area congregations gathered for a weekend of Bible study, fellowship and reflection. Most are involved in the leadership of one of these congregations. Directing the encounter were marriage counse-lors Jerry and Gail Heiderich from El Campo, Texas near Houston. The Heiderichs have served for many years as missionaries in the south of Brazil so they are fluent in Portuguese.

The focus of the study was on our relationship to God, which is the key for the health of our marriage. They compared it to the angles of a triangle. While the lines of the triangle are the largest parts and get all the attention, it is the angles that determine the shape of the triangle. In this comparison, while our many responsibilities like family and jobs draw most of our time and attention, it is our relationship with God that determines how well we do in these pursues.

To nurture this relationship we must develop an adequate personal devotional time daily involving Bible reading, prayer and meditation. These, as it were, are the “angles” of the triangle that is our life.

“Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.” (Ps. 127)

Twenty-six married couples involved in the leadership of a dozen congregations spent the weekend studying how to have a closer walk with God.