Thursday; June 2

If my mom were alive, she and my dad would be celebrating their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary. Even though my mother passed a few years ago, she and my father had a marriage that lasted over fifty-five years. That seems pretty impressive – until I realize that Jeane and I are into our fourth decade together – and that just kind of reminds me that I am not as young as I used to be!

As I look back at my parents’ marriage there are several things they did that provided a foundation for our own relationship:

1. They were friends. To me, this is the most important factor in a lasting marriage. Children come and go … problems persist … we all age; but, the one thing that can remain constant is a lasting friendship. When you enjoy each other’s company you can endure just about anything – and beyond that, it makes life fun.

2. They worked together. My parents had a pretty traditional marriage throughout the years, but no matter what roles they had, when they needed to work together (or help each other out), they did. There were times when my mom worked and my dad cooked. My dad did some of the housework and my mom would make sure I made it to baseball practice. It’s good to have responsibilities, but true love means doing what the family needs done to make it work smoothly.

3. They shared a spirit. Our family went through some challenges. Some were common to families and some where unique to ours. However, through it all, they shared a spiritual bond. We all knew where we were going to be on Sundays, and we all expected to be in heaven after our lives were done. Their religion gave them purpose and got them through the good times and the bad times.
Who are your marriage mentors? Periodically, discuss the principles they passed down to you and who knows, maybe you will reach 65 years together!

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more