Marriage is like water for our souls and twice as important. It
helps us overcome our weaknesses in a way that nothing else could. This is
because in order to make a marriage work we have to obtain Christ-like
qualities. These attributes and qualities do not always come naturally. In
fact, they rarely do. Some of the attributes we need in marriage are things
like: charity, humility, kindness, gratitude, compassion, and unselfishness. If
we were to remain single would we be as motivated to become this better version
of ourselves? I believe this would be much harder, even impossible to do
without marriage.
But what do we do when things get rough or we feel distant from
our spouse? What do I do when I’m sure I’m right and that he’s wrong? Do we
just throw in the towel and give up? When my husband and I were newly-weds we
had some of these questions come to our minds as we experienced the ups and
downs of marriage. My husband wondered if he had perhaps made a wrong choice
since growing up his parents never argued or disagreed. Thankfully we were both
committed and decided that we should look into marriage counseling. It didn’t
take long in counseling for us to learn new insights into ourselves, as well as
better communication skills. I am so grateful that we made the decision 17
years ago that no matter how hard it gets, we will do all we can to work
through it.
Unfortunately, many
people decide that divorce is the only option, and I realize that in some
cases, it is. But something I have learned from years of observing married
couples is that the grass is rarely, perhaps NEVER, greener on the other side. Thankfully
I have never wanted to question this theory but through the experiences of
others I have seen that this statement is truth. Interestingly, I have also
learned that the grass is ALWAYS greener on the side you take the time to
water. So, water your grass, strengthen your marriage, become the best person
you can be by striving to be the kind of person you would want to be married
to.
