It is important for believing couples to be part of a church family. #theloriclineshow Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   Do you have a village? You were not created to live on an island of one. We need each other and whether you are single or married, you were created to LIVE in and BE in a village. I can honestly say, I can’t think of a time or season in my life when I didn’t have a village. I’m from a small town and my dad was a pastor, so I had people loving me, supporting me, teaching me, leading me and keeping an eye on me all the time. Just because I grew up and got married doesn’t mean all of a sudden I don’t need people loving me, supporting me, teaching me, leading me and keeping an eye on me. That never changes. We need each other to make it through this life and that is no accident. God designed it that way and His design is always what leads to the very BEST this life has to offer. All this month, my focus has been on a love story. It’s my love story that begins with God’s love for me and leads to where I am in this season, celebrating thirty years of marriage. To God be the glory! It’s so true what they say that the days are long and the years fly by! On one hand, it seems like yesterday that I was saying, ‘I do’. On the other hand, it feels like a lifetime ago. Through it all, God has been faithful and good. We’ve learned a lot and even though we still have much to learn, I’m taking this month to share with you the truth that has guided and grounded us along the way. One such truth is that we need consistent people of God in our life. Our marriage would not be what it is today without the people God placed around us through faith communities over these past thirty years. Our eyes were opened to this early in our marriage. We were moving. Our movers stood us up one hot night in Houston, TX. Our community of faith showed up and showed us what love your neighbor really looks like. From that point on, we were all in. Church wasn’t simply a service to attend, it was a broken and messy people of faith, invading our homes over the years, loving God and loving each other, through the good, bad and the ugly of life. It’s not about what you get, it’s about what you GIVE. It’s how you build one another UP with your gifts and how you as a body together shine the gospel light of Jesus to a dark world. You can’t be a city on a hill with a population of one. You need people to sharpen you, challenge you and spur you on along the way. Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? We need each other. God created us to live IN community with one another. Single, married, young, old, when we come together, something beautiful happens. Culture today is moving you more and more to self sufficiency and isolation. Don’t fall prey to the lie. You need people. You need God’s people. Our world has never in history been more connected, while the physical and mental health of Americans is at risk due to a growing National crisis of loneliness. Church matters. It’s not perfect, but the cornerstone that it is built on, Jesus Christ, IS. That’s the truth. Church matters in our marriage and it always will. It hasn’t been without its wounds, brokenness and pain, but even then, God used those scars to draw us closer to Him. I’m Lori Cline.