Guests: Bruce and Sue Osterink
Bible Passage: Genesis 2:25
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Recommended Resources: Amazon Storefront for the Genesis Series
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Transcript
Bruce and Sue Osterink
Bruce and Sue Osterink are dear friends from my community. They have been married for 36 years. Bruce was a commercial general contractor, and had been involved in the health and fitness industry and golf business. Su e owned six clothing stores in two states. Their experience, spanning twenty-two years of mentoring nearly one hundred couples has given them invaluable perspective on the biblical principle of “leaving and cleaving.”
Episode Chapters
Leaving and Cleaving in Genesis
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Gen. 2:24
Well, I thought we were finished with season four – our “True Story of the Beginning Series,” where we studied the stories embedded into Genesis 1-3. But then my husband and I had dinner with Bruce and Sue, and this topic of “leaving and cleaving” came up. That’s when I realized that we didn’t really cover this idea thoroughly in the series. And it seems like a pretty big topic to overlook.
At the end of the series, we did several topical episodes, considering how to live like the story of Genesis 1-3 is the true story. And this is another one of those truths embedded into the text which offers so much guidance and flourishing, particularly to marriage.
Ready to Tie the Knot?
Do you know a couple getting married? Or perhaps you’ve recently walked the aisle and said, “I do.” After talking with Bruce and Sue Osterink, who have mentored close to one hundred couples, I’m more convinced than ever that the idea of “leaving and cleaving” is essential for a healthy marriage. But how should we put this into practice, especially in our own culture?
We talked about questions like:
- The Bible only tells the man to leave and cleave. Is the wife supposed to, also?
- How can I honor my parents, while prioritizing my spouse? Are the two mutually exclusive?
- What if my parents ask us over more than my spouse wants to go?
- What should we do, if we’ve never done the “leave and cleave” thing and patterns are in place?
Becoming the In-laws
Do you have kids getting married, or who are in the early years of marriage? You want your kids to have a healthy, strong marriage. Is there anything you can do to help them leave and cleave? Bruce and Sue Osterink say, “Yes!” As marriage mentors, they’ve seen the damage it can do when parents don’t release their children to prioritize their new family.
We talked about questions like:
- What happens when parents won’t let their children go?
- I still want to be honored. How can we find balance?
- What problems does it cause when parents don’t release their married children?
