I was asked by a young colleague who was about to enter the state of Matrimony in May about one week after my 39th anniversary about marriage. She wanted to know how someone stays married for over 39 years.
I thought briefly as I had considered this question many times.
Well I stated you love someone through all the times not just the good times.
Then I continued to ponder the question. Anyone can love when there is enough money and things are fine. The true test of love and commitment is to love for better and for worse.
Marriage is really a roller coaster ride of life. There are always phases and stages that can bring conflict, heart ache and the need to reach deep inside and just hang in there. Times when you feel good, happy, content.
Your spouse may be going through his own difficulty and you need to take a step back and not consider everything so personal. Your strength, your ability to love and support are so needed. Then there are times you may need the extra support for your trials of life.
The strength of character of the marriage comes from the ability to get up and stay up and keep going when you do not feel like it. Get out of bed, put on a friendly smile, go about your day making things happen.
A good marriage is like a bottle of wine. You may not get the best vintage but you open the bottle, smell the cork, sniff the glass, look at the colour, take a sip and drink it anyway or you can send back the bottle, hoping you will get a better one next time.
How is your marriage? Are there times you struggle? Have you found strength by persevering? Have you tried things to improve your marriage?
Great photo, Barb. Symbolic, I assume. I`ve been to two 50th wedding anniversaries in recent years and recognize that there`s another element to a lasting marriage ... a sense of old-time values and committment, come what may. Sadly, that value system is all too frequently missing amongst many of my contemporaries.
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