Marriage is Good, Hard Work

My youngest daughter, Abby, is getting married in less than a month! She had a wedding shower a few Saturdays ago and at the shower, each married woman wrote down a piece of marriage advice for her. Each lady in attendance had been married on average 20+ years, so this was a great group to gather wisdom! The top three answers:

• Forgive quickly.

• Keep short accounts.

• Don’t forget to date and have fun.

We see that advice and think, oh yes, of course! But when real life hits us in the face, it is hard to follow. It is hard because marriage is hard. Choosing to think about another person before yourself is difficult and doesn’t come naturally. Forgiving someone when they’ve hurt you is hard. Keeping short accounts and not bringing up wrongs from the past is hard. Continuing to date and have fun with your spouse is hard, especially after having children.

But when you do this hard work day in and day out, you will be blessed because marriage is good! It is good to have a companion by your side throughout life. It is good to come home to someone and say, “Honey, I’m home”, and know they are excited to see you. It is good to share your life and passions with another person, along with the inevitable disappointments of life.

Marriage is good and it is hard. When you find yourself in the middle of the hard, just keep going. Don’t sit down and stay there- keep moving and fight to work your way back to the good. When you get to the good…that’s when you want to sit down and stay awhile!! Enjoy those sweet seasons. Greg and I have been married for 35 years this year, and it has been a fun ride. A crazy ride at times, but I would do it all over again!

I am praying for your marriages moms, remember they are worth all of the hard work.