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By: Donna Martin
Deep in the cold winter month of February comes the warmth of love on Valentine’s Day. What a wonderful holiday to brighten the winter doldrums. When I taught school, February 14 was the most exciting day of the year. It was always amusing to watch the students’ actions and reactions as they gave and received special Valentines from secret and not-so-secret admirers. Love between 10-year-olds was simple, exciting, and usually uncomplicated. All it took to please that special someone was a box of candy, maybe a single rose, or even a crumpled card that had been carefully selected.
Sadly today, many couples have a ten-year-old child’s perception of love. People enter marriage with the idea that life together will be Valentine and roses. They expect that their spouse will meet their every need and expectation, their spouse will make them happy, and that married life will fulfill what is missing in their lives. They have an eros type of love that has no depth. Then when reality sets in and life gets hard they are shocked and disappointed.
But true love comes from a commitment to love and respect each other through the good times and bad. True love develops when you learn to serve and don’t expect to be served. True love grows when you show grace, respect, and trust, when you give encouragement, time and a listening ear, when you overlook the little things that don’t matter and work on the little things that do matter.
Could your marriage use a refresher course? If so, contact us today. We want to help couples build stronger marriages. Perhaps your small group or church would like to provide a marriage enrichment event in the near future. Call us to book a time.
The Martins currently present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations. To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.” They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues. You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriages.com.