18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky.He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.23 The man said,“This is now bone of my bones     and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’     for she was taken out of man.”24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.REFLECTIONSWritten by Stephen SheadThe other day, Rebecca and I were talking to a friend in Chile, where they have been in strict COVID lockdown for more than 7 months. People are not allowed to leave their property without a police pass. She and her husband have spent the lockdown in a beautiful house they built on a picturesque property in the mountains. But despite the stunning natural beauty around them, their mental health and mood have suffered because … they miss people desperately!Although these verses have very important things to tell us about marriage, they actually apply more broadly to human relationships. “It is not good for the man to be alone” (v. 18): this is the first time something is described as “not good” in Genesis. And it applies to introverts like me as well: we need relationships with other people – made in God’s image like us – in order to thrive.Once again, praise God for things like Zoom during COVID isolation! But this is a good chance to pray for those who are particularly struggling with isolation, and to ask God to show us how we can love and help them.And for those who are married, the first picture the Bible gives us of marriage is not about romance or sex – it’s about being a team. The woman is a “suitable helper” (v. 20) in working the garden. It reminds me that one of the keys to a strong marriage is having a team mentality – which means that, instead of trying to win arguments or get your own way, both partners are trying to find solutions that will build a stronger team.As well as praying for those struggling with isolation, stop now and pray for God’s protection on all the marriages in our big St Barnabas church family.QUESTIONIf you are using these devotions with your children, you could read verses 20-22 and then talk about the question: Can you think of some reasons why it's good that God made both men and women?ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen is our Senior Minister and leads our Bossley Park Congregation.