By: Donna Martin
Love is a powerful emotion. Through the centuries people have done many crazy things for love ex. given up a position of royalty, jumped out of an airplane, moved across the world, lived in a cave, faked their death, to name a few. When couples first “falls in love” they may be willing to do anything to fan the flames of passion.
The sad thing is when the flames of passion begin to smolder after a few years, too many couples are all too ready and willing to throw in the towel and call it quits. Falling in love is easy; staying in love takes a little more work.
So when half of marriages are ending in divorce, how are some marriages continuing on for decades? There are many reasons that love lasts, but the main reason is commitment. People with lasting marriages have made a lasting commitment. They are willing to do what it takes to make things work. According to Paul David Tripp in his book What Did You Expect?, before you can get your horizontal relationships right you must first get your vertical relationship right. What does he mean by this? Sin causes us to be selfish, self-centered, angry, rude, lazy, etc. You get the picture. But when the Spirit of God fills our lives He produces in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we possess these qualities, it is more likely that we will be the kind of spouse that it takes to make a marriage last. But it is impossible to possess these qualities through our own strengthen we need the help of God thus our commitment to God and to live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is the commitment that helps us keep our commitment to love our spouse “until death do us part.”
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.