I have heard that people no longer believe in marriage. In fact, they believe that marriage is an antiquated and unnecessary institution. I do not agree.
Marriage is the definition of commitment. In a marriage, two people make a promise to God and each other to love and respect each other for life. When things get rough, you are called to remember your promise to God and each other. In doing so, you must remember what made you fall in love and work on your marriage. Working on a marriage is not a one-time event, it is a daily requirement that lasts a lifetime. Regardless of health, wealth, or any other condition, you uphold your promise to love and cherish another person for life. That is commitment.
A commitment to your marriage is a commitment to your family. Families thrive when marriages are happy. When a married couple treats each other with love and respect they create a safe and happy home. Such a home is the ideal environment for children to thrive and grow. It is important to work at a marriage so that your home and the people in it will be happy. In this sense, a commitment to marriage results in happiness for the whole family.
All people want commitment. We want to be loved and cherished. We want to be happy. When we cannot find commitment and its resulting love, we tend to feel depressed and desolate. it is only God that loves us completely, and it is only through Him that we are able to learn how to live a life that makes a loving and committed marriage possible.
Commitments are not easy. Marriages are not fairytales consisting of happy ending and rainbows. Marriages require real and constant effort. No two people are alike. They have different opinions and preferences. There are times when spouses lose their temper and become upset with each other. For the commitment to endure, both spouses must overcome their natures and love each other as God wills. By living in God’s will, a couple can survive the hardships and pressures that are faced by marriages.
Faith in God is the recipe for a good, lasting, and committed marriage. If both people love God first, they will be truly able to love each other. If they live their lives to honor God, they will treat each other with dignity, love, respect, and honesty. If they recognize their spouse as one of God’s precious creations, they will love and cherish that person and see them as a gift from God. Sometimes, through our faith, God calls us to make choices that are hard. Remember that God sees all things and knows all things. He knows what will make you happy and he knows what you need to do to achieve that happiness. Following God’s will in faith, binds and strengthens a marriage, and creates the ultimate commitment that we all seek and need.
Yet, we know that it is hard for marriages to survive in our world. Even when we strive to live in God’s will, we cannot force others to do the same. We also can’t force our spouse to work on a marriage even when we chose to do so. That is why it is critical to determine, before marriage if and your future spouse both regard marriage that the underlying commitment in the same light. Further, that you both want to live in God’s will. The most important tools to strengthen and protect a marriage is faith, prayer, and the example of other strong marriages. Both spouses must recognize and agree with this truth so they can use these tools to protect their marriage.
Let’s all pray that God helps us realize that we still need the commitment provided in marriage. Further, let’s pray that both spouses choose to live in God’s will, before and during their marriage, so they can truly experience the graces found in this commitment.
Maria Wiemann
My Dame D'Or 