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June is wedding month. According to a study done by Pew
Research, The Wedding Report and the US Census Bureau, the average wedding now costs $27,000.
Most of us enjoy attending a beautiful marriage celebration,
but have you ever wondered if that young couple who look so happy walking down
the aisle intend to invest as much in their marriage as they did in their
beautiful wedding?
Unfortunately, from the emails we receive, many do not. We aren’t unsympathetic. We know how difficult marriage can be…and how
stressful life becomes once the “I do’s” are said and the honeymoon is over.
Anything of value needs upkeep. A baby grand piano needs
tuning if we want Beethoven's Sonata No. 14 to enrapture us. A BMW needs an oil
change if we wish to purr along Highway 101 on the coast of California,
enjoying the winding journey among rolling green hills and the turquoise ocean.
And a healthy 50-year-old needs a medical checkup if he intends to pursue life,
liberty and happiness.
The greater the value of something or someone, the greater the
willingness to invest.
How important is your
marriage?
Did you know your marriage, in the eyes of God, is the
longest lasting institution to which you belong, apart from the church, the
body of Christ? Contrast that with the educational institution you attended for
a limited number of years and all the money you put into that education to get
a degree. Yet statistics now show that
at the average cost of $27,000, many weddings cost more than a college degree!
We all know a good college education doesn’t guarantee a good job just as a beautiful
wedding doesn’t guarantee a good
marriage. Yet we invest our money in
both because we value the future job and the future marriage.
But does the investment stop there? Those who have good
marriages would say, "Absolutely not!" They keep investing hours,
energy and finances in their marriages…long past the wedding.
Sarah and I started Love and Respect Ministries because we
care about investing in marriage. Our desire is to equip you with helpful tools
through our resources and conferences, to make your marriage last a lifetime.
How are you investing
in your marriage?
6 comments:
I'm 32 and single, but I took cues from a friend in how to invest in the marriages of others.
In the past, I have offered to babysit my friend's kids for free. I get time with their kids, and they get time with each other. The best part is at the end of the night the three of us (said married couple and myself) stay up and talk for awhile about life.
I glean *so much* from those conversations about marriage and family. I grew up in a broken home, so my view towards family was distorted pretty early on. God uses those nights to renew my understanding of marriage and family, while keeping my heart tender to the hope that I will have that myself one day.
Plus, I know babysitting can be exspensive. :D I still feel like I get the better end of the deal though. Lol.
I just love your marriage books. I read them, kinda like a Bible, so that I can remember how to either prevent or stop the crazy cycle. Our marriage was good before, but now it is grrreat! Well done to you both.
"...have you ever wondered if that young couple who look so happy walking down the aisle intend to invest as much in their marriage as they did in their beautiful wedding?" - All the time, Emerson! But what's even more horrifying is that those young couples haven't invested much in their marriage BEFORE the wedding (8 hours of premarital counseling maybe). Could you imagine someone landing their dream job first and then going to school to learn how to keep it. They won't. And so goes so many marriages. GOD BLESS your efforts in teaching what should have been taught on the front end. And God bless your daughter, Joy, whose trying to get the message out ahead of the $27K wedding.
I just bought the last copy of your book at the local bookstore. My husband and I have had an up/down marriage for 16 years. We have started talking about divorcing. I really don't want one. Our marriage problems are a combination of communication and lack of trust and intimacy. I'm praying very hard that God will help restore my marriage. After reading the first 2 Chapters in your book, I wrote my husband a letter asking for forgiveness for the things that I have done that are ungodly. I stated that I have forgiven him for things said/done. I know that God has forgiven us. I just pray it isn't too late to save this marriage. Thank you for listening.
This one is really interesting! I really wonder too if they really valued marriage. As far as my concern some of the young couples tend to end in divorce maybe because they haven't invest much before wedding or maybe they tend to rush things that is why when it comes to problems such as financial they are so weak can't handle it properly.
As of now, I'm still single and I don't have plan to get married at my age. I'm 21 years old and have a boyfriend and we've been together for almost 4 years. So I hope that he will be mine forever!
I am hearing a lot of judgement on the time from first date to ring. I think the point is not how long it takes to get there but what kind of committment you are willong to make. Part of that committment is reading together sharing together and taking time to communicate. All the time in the world will not change whether or not someone is committed to those requirements. My fiance and i will have been together just eight months when we tie the knot. We are committed to investing the time and the energy. We would not be more committed to it in another year. It seems to be a human nature thing the idea that we need tons of time to make the right decision. A good marriage is not based on how much time we take before but how much time energy and, yes, money we are willing to spend after.
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