"If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by. Marriage is just like that. We need to treat it just that way." F. Burton Howard
One of my favorite talks ever about marriage is from this talk
Within the talk there is a parable about a set of silverware his wife registered for and received for their wedding. It was extremely important and valuable to her. She made sure each time it was used it was polished with a non-tarnishing cloth. She always put it away in the special wooden box it came in and kept it under their bed for protection. Because she valued this silver so much she didn't treat it like her every day stainless steel utensils.
We should treat our marriages like his wife treated that silver. We should nurture it, not take it for granted, not make it common or ordinary and not treat it like our every day "utensils". Our spouses should get our best selves, not our left overs at the end of the day. We must work on nurturing this most important relationship and giving it time and thought regularly. We should think about how we can make our spouses life better daily. A stable, healthy marriage is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. A stable happy marriage is of great benefit to society. Marriage is a building block of society.
Marriage isn't easy, my husband and I have been married for 23 years. We have had many many challenges in our marriage and it certainly hasn't been all roses and romance and chocolate. There is no such thing as perfection in marriage. We are imperfect, changing, growing human beings. However it is absolutely worth working for, it is worth doing what we need to have a happy relationship.
What kind of work are you willing to put forth to make your marriage happy, healthy and stable?
Disclaimer: (I am not talking about any abuse of any kind, that is a deal breaker in a marriage and needs to be dealt with.)