For Better or Worse

Marriage. "I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

Marriage is one of those funny things. You wait your whole life for that one day, you imagine it big with lots of people and the perfect dress, family, good food, everything you could ever dream of. You picture your husband as the man who sweeps you off of your feet. Your knight in shining armor. Your father walks you down a beautiful aisle covered in flower peddles up to the alter where your dad hands you off to be taken care of by your perfect man. We spend almost 1/3 of our life planning out this moment. The moment you hope your life will change, where everyday its hard to breath because you are so utterly taken away by the one you love. Getting to go to sleep and wake up next to that wonderful person. Living a life of blissful happiness and joy. Eventually having kids to live on the legacy of your love. Big house, nice car, good job, perfect kids, wonderful husband. This fantasy we all create in our head from the moment we are old enough to talk. You see these images everywhere, TV, movies, magazines, posters. The world creates this picture perfect image of what love, marriage, parenting, and success should be. You picture getting old side by side in rocking chairs on the porch watching your grand kids playing in the front yard. That one person for eternity. 

We set ourselves up with the highest standards and our parents set us up for even higher ones and yet every day you look around and what do you see and hear? Infidelity, violence, disrespect, divorce. Our divorce rate is at almost 50%. We see shows like Desperate Housewives and are ignorant enough to wonder why the very moral of marriage is deteriorating. If you take a random poll about what it takes to keep a long and happy marriage people will say things like excitement in bed, communication, trust, loyalty, compromise. Pieces of advice that we give and never follow. The truth is what no one wants to admit; life is not a fairy-tale, it's not a game of trial and error, its not something that you can just try on for size. Marriage is work. It is a 24 hour job, 7 days a week. Whether your marriage ends in divorce or everlasting peace, you will always be spiritually connected with your spouse. And the real truth to a successful marriage is dedication, will, and strength. Falling in love is not for the faint of hearts and it is not for those unwilling to fight everyday for that common ground. LOVE: Loving Obsessively, Vowing Eternity. If you do this wholeheartedly even the rainiest of days can bring you sunshine.