Staying Married is Work!

And they lived happily ever after.

These are the words of a fairy tale. Fairy tales is a genre of literature that we all know are fantasy. This means the story is full of things that are not real. The reality of marriage is that it is hard work. Those who tell you otherwise are simply not being truthful.

The reason that marriage is hard work is that I am hard to live with. Yes, I know many of you are shaking your heads in disbelief. But it is true. It is true for you as well. Each one of us is difficult to live with. We have our own rough edges. We all have our moments in which we are less than beautiful. If you do not believe it, just look in the mirror early one morning.

Now having said all that let me tell you that it is worth all the work. There are days that romance fills the air. There are days that you stare into each other's world goo goo eyed. There are days when you are glad that you have held their hand and their heart. There are days that you are glad that you are glad someone else held your hand and your heart.

In today's world the statistics tell us that half of the marriages will fail. That number goes even higher for persons who live together before they are married or are in their second or third marriage. I think it is because of the work involved in staying married. We simply are not willing to give the relationship the time necessary. We are not willing to grow up.

The second reason marriages fail is infidelity. The other word for that is cheating. The biblical word for that is fornication.

A refined woman showed up at her drugstore one morning. "I need some cyanide." The druggist who was a dear friend of hers said, "What in the world do you need cyanide for?" She answered, "My husband has been unfaithful and I am going to kill him!" The druggist answered, "Now you know that I cannot give you such. It is against the law. I know it is a terrible thing, but you must think this through." The woman then pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the druggist's wife. The druggist then said, "You didn't tell me you had a prescription!"

God's prescription for marriage is love, forgiveness, faithfulness, and yes—work. Give each other the time needed. Grow up as you grow in love and years. This week, I am fortunate to celebrate 25 years of marriage with my darling wife, Mandy. She has blessed me in so many ways. And yes, we have had to work at it but it is worth all the work!

And we have lived happily—most of the time.

Pray for me as I pray for you