When a flat tire and a smart washer reminded me that marriage—and faith—aren’t solo missions it brought to mind Priscilla and Aquila lessons teamwork.
So, after The Great Friday Tire Incident of 2025, the hubs reminded me that we are, in fact, a team.
See, sitting on the side of the road in my “responsible mom who can handle anything” energy, I was struggling with the world’s most pitiful jack. I kept thinking, “If he were here, he’d have handled this in five minutes,” while also feeling really dumb for not being able to get the thing to work.
Meanwhile, I’m sweating, grunting, and trying to convince myself I’m an independent woman who can handle it — until the jack handle slipped and smacked my shin.
Spoiler: I can, in fact, not handle everything.
And when I’m upset and frustrated he’s usually good to remind me that I’m not in this alone. We are a team.
Which sounded real good until he had to wash his hunting clothes by himself, in the new washing machine he hasn’t had a chance to use yet.
The call came when I was driving to pick up kids:
“Hey… uh… how do you use your fancy washing machine?”
Now, y’all, this is not your average washing machine. It’s one of those “smart” washers that connects to Wi-Fi and an app and probably NASA if you let it. And he is by no means incapable in the tech department. In fact, I think he’s pretty brilliant, but he’s literally never had to mess with before. Much like me and my car jack.
Normally, I’d just handle it myself, but Apple decided to “offload” my app to save storage, which meant I had to talk him through it — blind. We got there but not without a good bit of laughing.
The Biblical Part (Where God Reminds Me I’m Not the First Messy Teammate)
It made me think about Priscilla and Aquila, this husband-and-wife team we meet in Acts 18. These two were the original ministry power couple — tentmakers by trade, church planters by calling. They were partners in business and in faith, which probably means they also had their fair share of “you’re doing it wrong” moments.
They met Paul when he was basically homeless and jobless in Corinth (Acts 18:2-3), and they just took him in. No long meetings, no ministry titles — just hospitality and hard work. Later, they traveled with Paul, hosted house churches, and even helped teach Apollos, who was smart, passionate, and only slightly missing a few key details about Jesus.
But here’s the beautiful thing: Scripture always lists them together. Sometimes Priscilla’s name even comes first, which in that culture was a big deal. It meant they worked shoulder to shoulder — equal partners in the mission.
They didn’t compete for who got credit. They didn’t argue about whose calling was “bigger.” They just did the work together.
It’s the same kind of partnership marriage is supposed to be. Not a scoreboard, not a power struggle — but a steady rhythm of “you handle that, I’ll handle this,” under one roof, with one purpose: serving God and each other.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized—God designed us to be incomplete on purpose.
If I could fix the tire and manage the washing machine and do all the things, I’d probably stop needing anyone. But teamwork reminds me that needing help isn’t weakness—it’s relationship.
Marriage and ministry both thrive on that. One person plants, the other waters. One person holds the flashlight, the other twists the wrench. And sometimes, one person cries on the curb while the other Googles “how to reset a smart washer.”
Either way, it’s grace in motion.
Because teamwork isn’t just splitting chores—it’s blending strengths. It’s realizing that when we both bring what we’ve got, even if it’s mismatched, God multiplies it into something beautiful.
Key Verse:
“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.”
— Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 (NIV)
Devotional Action:
Think of one area in your marriage (or partnership, friendship, or family) where you tend to keep score. This week, flip the script. Celebrate their strength instead of resenting your weakness. Maybe even say it out loud: “Hey, you’re really good at this—and I’m thankful.”
Guided Prayer:
Lord, thank You for the people You’ve placed beside me—for the ones who see the things I miss and steady me when I’m struggling.
Help me to stop comparing and start collaborating.
Teach me to value our differences as part of Your design,
so together we can reflect Your love and purpose.
Amen.
Leave a Reply