DO YOU HAVE A HAPPY MARRIAGE? 

«For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh»  (Ephesians 5:31). 

SOME THINK that having a happy marriage is a simple matter of luck. They also claim that it’s after the wedding when details come to light that were well hidden during the courtship. This has some truth to it. In fact, it’s after marriage, in the routine of daily life, that the spouses begin to notice, with surprise, aspects of the other that they had not been able to discover before. But, outside of this, building a happy marriage has little to do with luck; it’s on the basis of unconditional love, dedication, and sacrifice that a couple’s happiness can be gradually worked on. However, this is something that not many wives and husbands are willing to invest in.

Unconditional love is demonstrated through a generous attitude of help despite the circumstances. It means providing intimacy without running over personal boundaries. It means being respectful of individuality and originality, without trying to impose your ways of being and doing. Marital satisfaction is created in a peer-to-peer relationship, where each spouse feels understood and respected by the other, aware that it’s a relationship between two people, not one who commands and another who obeys. It’s in this context that the «we,» is created, based on full freedom, mutual aid, and unconditional acceptance of one’s own and the others defects and virtues. Dignity, granted by God, is the flag that flies in a happy marriage. You love your spouse because he or she is like you, a child of God, created in His image and likeness.

The only triangle that the Bible allows in marriage is the one formed by the husband, the wife, and God. The Lord is the One who sustains, provides, and strengthens when conjugal love is overshadowed or threatened by adverse circumstances. It’s not possible to leave marital happiness in the hands of luck, for it is built solely on God and with God. Consider the following acronym:

G = Guide your family by building communication bridges 

O = Omit the negative and dwell on positive qualities  

D = Dedicate yourself to putting others and God first  

May God bless your marriage! 

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Take From: Daily Devotions for Women’s 2021
«BRUSHSTROKES OF GOD’S LOVE»
BY: Erna Alvarado Poblete
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Alejandra Zavala