Welcome.
I'm Rosa Rigo,
And I'm so grateful the two of you are here.
My hope for this space is to help couples slow down.
Quiet the noise.
Reconnect with themselves and with one another.
And create the space for God to work within the relationship.
You don't need to fix anything right now.
You don't need to figure out who's right or wrong.
Simply come into this experience with an open heart.
And a willingness to receive what may be here for you.
For now,
Get comfortable.
Allow yourselves to be fully present.
And let's begin.
Find a comfortable place to lie down beside one another.
Allow your bodies to be fully supported beneath you.
You may hold hands.
Allow your arms to gently touch.
Or simply rest close enough to feel the presence of the person beside you.
There is nothing you need to solve right now.
Nothing you need to explain.
Nothing you need to defend.
Allow your eyes to close.
And take a slow breath in through your nose.
And gently release it through your mouth.
And again.
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
Allow your jaw to soften.
Let your shoulders become heavy Allow your belly to relax.
Feel your back surrendering into the surface beneath you.
And notice your breath beginning to slow.
Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you?
So before we turn toward one another.
We turn toward God.
Silently invite the Holy Spirit into your awareness.
Holy Spirit.
Meet me here.
Quiet the noise within me.
Show me what is true.
Soften what has become hardened.
Reveal what I need to see.
Help me receive your love so that I may learn to love from the overflow of you.
Take another slow breath in.
And exhale.
You don't have to strive to make anything happen.
In Psalm chapter 46 verse 10.
It says to be still and know that I am God.
So,
Be still.
And breathe.
Now,
Become aware of the person lying beside you.
You don't need to look at them.
Simply feel their presence.
Notice their hand if you are touching.
Notice their warmth.
Notice the subtle awareness.
That another human being.
Is beside you.
This person has an inner world you cannot completely see.
They have fears,
Dreams,
Wounds,
Memories,
Desires,
Weaknesses and places where God is still working.
Just like you.
In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 2.
Scripture tells us.
Be completely humble and gentle.
Be patient.
Bearing with one another in love.
Notice what happens inside your body when you hear those words.
Gentle.
Patient.
Bearing with one another in love.
Where does your body soften?
And where does it resist?
You don't have to change anything.
Just notice.
Sometimes when we have been hurt.
Disappointed.
Misunderstood.
Or afraid.
The nervous system begins protecting us.
The person we love can begin to feel like the person we need to defend ourselves against.
But in Ephesians 6,
Verse 12.
Scripture reminds us.
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale.
Quietly remind yourself.
My partner is not my enemy.
And again,
Take a deep breath in.
And exhale,
My partner is not my enemy.
This doesn't mean everything they do is right.
And it doesn't mean ignoring hurt.
It doesn't mean abandoning wisdom or boundaries.
It simply means remembering.
That love is not supposed to become war.
Now bring your awareness to your chest.
Notice the space around your heart.
Maybe it feels open.
Maybe guarded.
Maybe tender.
Maybe even numb.
And maybe you don't know what you feel.
Whatever is there.
Let it be there.
In Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23.
Scripture tells us.
Above all else,
Guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.
God does not tell us to harden our hearts.
He tells us to guard them.
There is a difference.
A guarded heart can still love.
A guarded heart can still forgive.
A guarded heart can still remain soft before God.
While becoming wise about what it allows inside.
Take another breath into your chest.
And exhale.
And silently pray.
Help me protect the purity of my heart.
Without allowing pain to turn into bitterness.
Notice if there is anything you have been carrying toward the person beside you.
Resentment,
Anger,
Disappointment.
Something you wish they understood.
Something you wish they had done differently.
Don't solve it.
Simply.
Acknowledge it.
In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 31 to 32.
Scripture says.
Get rid of all bitterness,
Rage,
And anger.
Be kind and compassionate to one another,
Forgiving each other.
Forgiveness does not mean pretending something didn't hurt.
It doesn't eliminate accountability.
It does not automatically restore trust.
It means refusing to allow another person's actions.
To determine the conditions of your heart.
Take a deep breath in.
And slowly exhale.
And imagine placing what you have been carrying into God's hands.
You don't need to force yourself to release everything today.
Simply loosen your grip.
Now,
Return your awareness to your partner.
Without opening your eyes.
Simply remember.
There is a person beside me.
Whom God knows completely.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 4 to 6 scripture says,
Love is patient.
Love is kind.
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil,
But rejoices with the truth.
Notice that scripture does not separate love from truth Biblical love isn't pretending.
It isn't enabling.
It isn't avoiding difficult conversations.
Love rejoices with the truth.
Ask yourself quietly.
God.
Where are you asking me to become more loving?
And now.
Where are you asking me to become more truthful?
And finally.
.
.
Where are you asking me to become more humble?
In Matthew chapter seven,
Verse three.
Scripture tells us.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye?
And pay no attention to the plank in your own eye.
So for this moment.
Don't examine your partner.
Examine yourself.
Not with shame.
With curiosity.
Ask,
What belongs to me?
Maybe there is something you need to communicate.
Something you need to apologize for.
A boundary you need to honor.
A behavior you need to change.
Something you need to forgive.
Or something you simply need to surrender to God.
Let's silently pray.
God,
Show me my heart.
Give me the humility to own what belongs to me.
And the wisdom.
Not to carry what belongs to someone else.
Now feel the surface beneath your body again.
Feel your own body.
Your own breath.
Your own heartbeat.
And simultaneously.
Become aware of the person beside you.
To individual people.
Two bodies.
Two stories.
Two relationships with God.
And yet scripture says of marriage.
In Matthew chapter 19 verse 5.
The two will become one flesh.
Oneness does not require the disappearance of either person.
Healthy love allows two whole people to choose one another.
So let us silently say.
I release the need to control your journey.
I take responsibility for mine.
I release the need to force connection.
I choose to create the conditions where connection can grow.
I choose truth.
I choose integrity.
I choose love.
Now continue lying exactly where you are.
Eyes closed.
Feel your partner beside you.
And allow these words to become a prayer over your relationship.
Father.
Thank you for the person lying beside me.
You know both of our hearts completely.
You know what is beautiful between us.
You know what has been wounded.
You know what we cannot yet understand.
Protect what is good between us.
Expose what is not.
Remove pride.
Resentment,
Deception.
Bitterness,
Fear,
And unforgiveness from our hearts.
Teach us to listen before defending.
To take responsibility before blaming.
To speak truth without cruelty.
To forgive without abandoning wisdom.
To establish boundaries without hatred.
And to love without losing ourselves.
Father your word tells us in Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 to 23 that the fruit of the spirit is love,
Joy,
Peace,
Forbearance,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Faithfulness,
Gentleness,
And self-control.
Let this be the fruit of our relationship.
And what it produces.
And where that fruit is missing,
Give us the courage to see it.
Where trust has been damaged,
Let it be rebuilt through truth,
Consistency,
Repentance,
And action.
Where our hearts have become hardened,
Soften them.
Where our hearts need protection,
Give us wisdom.
Where we have lost each other.
Lead each of us back to you.
And Father your Word tells us in Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 12.
A cord of three strands.
Is not quickly broken.
So be the third strand in this relationship,
Lord.
Not something we simply speak about.
But the foundation beneath us.
Now take one final deep breath together,
Breathe in.
And slowly breathe out.
Don't open your eyes yet.
Don't speak.
Don't fix anything.
Simply feel your body.
Feel the person beside you.
And rest for a few moments in the presence of God.
Psalm 46 verse 10.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still.
Be present and let God meet you both here.
As this meditation comes to an end,
Don't rush to fill the space with words.
Take a moment to simply notice how you feel and to appreciate the person beside you.
You don't need to solve everything today.
Relationships are built through small intentional choices we make again and again.
To listen.
Understands.
To take responsibility.
To repair.
To forgive.
And to continue choosing love.
My hope is that you carry the connection you've created here into the way you speak to one another,
Listen to one another,
And show up for your relationship.
Until next time,
Keep choosing growth.
Keep choosing connection.
And keep choosing each other.
