Most people talk about having a love like Romeo &
Juliet, but this isn't exactly who we should be idealize; after
all their union ended in double suicide.
Their marriage didn't last long due to their early deaths, nor was it
tested. Love is meant to be tested!
It’s
unrealistic to think that marriage is going to be all roses and love
poems. Marriages, often tested as
couples experience the ups and downs of life together. Unlike other
relationships marriages are set up to last and withstand these trials.
For example, infertility is a
common trial that some married couples face.
There are countless others that could be listed. So what about marriage keeps a couple
together? One guess could be wedding
vows. The vows we make the day we are
married strengthen our commitment to one another and help us through the
challenges of life. You may be asking,
“How can a bunch of words said aloud offer support to a marriage?” I believe our promise to one another and God
greatly affects our thoughts and actions after marriage.
Our wedding vows become
more than just words when we think about them in this manner. It is our wedding vows when held in such regard that dictate our actual commitment to one another. That commitment ultimately keeps us working
on our marriage and holding tight to one another instead of jumping ship at the
first, fifth, or even the 100th trial. Married couples make it through that 100th
trial all the time, but maybe the world is too focused on those that don’t last
past their fifth. It is up to you to
notice and cling to the GREAT
examples out there. Marriage is
meant to last, so what will you do to ensure that yours becomes one of the
GREATS?
After you
watch the video clip below answer the discussion questions with your spouse.
GREAT Example
- Think about a time when you and
your spouse struggled together? Share
how it brought you closer together. If
it did not bring you closer, then talk about what you could have done to allow
it to strengthen your relationship.
- What is one thing you can do
today to strengthen your marriage, so that it may last as long as Carl &
Ellie’s from ‘Up’?
- Ponder how married couples can go
through life’s challenges without any damage to their own marriage & be strengthened
by these hardships that might otherwise end in divorce with other couples?
Remember its not the word but what the word mean to us.