This past weekend we went on our annual Memorial Day camping trip with friends. One evening we sat around and shared our best marriage advice with some of the older teens and young adults in our families.
One woman shared her father's wisdom that he had imparted to her husband: "Happy wife, happy life." I suggested that an updated version might be "Appease the squeeze." As a group we talked about issues such as budgeting, communicating, vacationing together, and laughing with one another.
What was clear from this and other times spent together is that none of us has been spared life's difficulties or pains, but that each of our marriages is strong because we are committed to the well-being of the other and to always finding a way to work through the challenges. For each of the couples in our group, faith plays an important role in the strength of our marriages; faith and shared values that make parenting and other practical decisions easier to negotiate.
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- If you missed a previous issue of this newsletter or want to reread a past issue, check out my Newsletters Archive (click on the link to visit the archive site).
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Judy and I went into marriage believing that divorce was not an option. I remember waking up about 10 years in, at a time when we had three children three years old and under, and thinking - "Now I know how people get divorced." It wasn't that this was an actual consideration, just that I realized how much work it is to keep a marriage together.
Chances are good that each of our children will get married (the vast majority of American adults do). We trust that in our marriage they witness two very different adults sticking together through all of life's ups and downs.
I realize that not all marriages are capable of persisting nor should all marriages last, but to those who continue to fight the good fight to keep their marriages strong, I commend you in that effort.
Many young people just need to see love lived out daily to be encouraged that they are able to do the same.
In this space between Mother's Day and Father's Day, let's celebrate the value of marriage!
