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"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest... my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Most married couples know something about labor and burden. We know it from the outside, in the form of jobs, school schedules, medical appointments, and finances. We know it from the inside, in the ongoing work of staying close to another person across years and decades. The good news is that marriage itself is one of the primary ways God gives us that rest. Yo

Many years ago, Mark's father shared a conversation he and Mark's mother had early in their marriage. His mother had told his father that she loved God most, him second, and herself third. He'd told her the opposite: he loved her most, God second, and himself third. He said he was even a little hurt that she didn't love him as much as he loved her. It was an absurd conversation between two newlyweds, and Mark can't remember why his father shared it. It stuck with him because

"There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known." How would you behave if you knew that everything you did will eventually be exposed? The money you secretly withdrew from savings to gamble. The time you vented to a colleague about all the things you don't like about your spouse. The credit card your spouse doesn't know about. The hidden cache of pornography. The group chat where you and your siblings made jokes about your partners. I