Friday, January 15, 2016

EVER EVER AFTER




EVER EVER AFTER

We live in a time where divorce and marriage are words which are always used together.  It is the peanut butter and jelly of the modern day.  Marriage is something that should be one of the happiest events in a person’s life.  The day that two people decide to spend eternity together is an amazing day.  But even when a couple seems perfect, divorce stains the beauty of the day. 

My cousin and I attended a beautiful wedding of one of our mutual friends.  They were a young couple who had gotten pregnant and were therefore getting married so that the baby could grow up in a solid family situation.  After the ceremony, my cousin leaned over and whispered, “I give them 6 months, max.”  I went along with the conversation and agreed that the couple didn’t seem likely to make it to their next anniversary.  Now thinking back, I realize how sad the conversation was.  Even at the wedding, the ugly topic of divorce weaseled its way into the conversation.

Our society has slipped so swiftly down an awful path that we almost don’t realize what it is doing to our perception on relationships.  As I was reading The State of our Unions: Marriage in America 2012* I saw something that made me do a double take.  On page 88, it talked about how our chances of divorce are smaller than we think.  This information was new to me and made me stop and re read the graph.  It went on to talk about how if one was an educated, religiously affiliated, established person, the chances of getting a divorce were lowered nearly 50%!  And for most people, the chances of getting a divorce are actually well below the 50/50 mark.  Why is the negative side of the issue so much easier to see than the positive side?   Why do we lack the hope and faith in marriage?  Why do we forget how vital marriage is to society and to the development of children?



 I believe if we focus on the success rate rather than the failure rate of marriages, we will be able to salvage our rough marriages and our hope will also build others up to succeed in their marriage struggles as well. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. **We just have to wake up every morning and make the choice to be happy.  We can choose to hate our situation or we can choose to make the best of it.  Remember why you chose to marry your significant other and seek Gods help to make the best out of the situation you have.  And if everything goes well.  You can always have the happily ever after you have dreamed of.


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*http://www.stateofourunions.org/2012/social_indicators.php#divorce
** https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng
*** http://www.meetthebestyou.com/25-amazing-quotes-about-love-well-never-get-tired-of/



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