Many of our favorite old fairy tales have this
ending: "So they were married and lived happily
ever after." And this is what many of us would like
to think about marriage . . . happily ever after. However, we all
know from divorce statistics and the brokenhearted letters to
advice columns that many couples do not achieve marital happiness.
There may be more divorces today, but that doesn't necessarily
mean that there is more unhappiness in marriage. We have
no idea how many couples one or two generations ago stayed
together because it was impossible for them to separate. People
who are ready to get married have been dreaming some private
dreams of love and happiness. The movies and love stories
would have us believe that happy marriage is something handed
as a gift to us on our wedding day. Actually, a happy marriage is
something to be created together through many years of loving,
caring, nurturing, and "hanging in there" through good times
and bad.
Marriage is a beautiful, life-consuming relationship. Other
than your relationship to God, marriage is the most important
relationship you will ever have. It is worth all of the time, energy,
sacrifice, and devotion you can put into it.