From The Princess Bride (1987) The Impressive Clergyman: Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam… The Impressive Clergyman: And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva… The Impressive Clergyman: So tweasure your wuv. Prince Humperdinck: Skip to the end. The Impressive Clergyman: Have you the wing? The Impressive Clergyman: …and do you,Pwincess Buwwercup… Prince Humperdinck: Man and wife. Say man and wife. The Impressive Clergyman: Man an’ wife.
I would like to continue on the topic of marriage and discuss a few perspectives. Today’s readings will be more light-hearted than before (hence The Princess Bride), mostly because I believe marriage is such a serious covenant, but could at times use a lighter outlook.
My husband and I are newly married, just a few months over two years. I have already learned so much, but have decades of learning left to go! Thankfully, I have girlfriends from all walks of life that share their experiences and wisdom. I am so thankful for them! Growing up I learned what I didn’t want my marriage to look like, and every day since the world paints a pretty clear picture of that in reiteration.
Here are a few tips I am often reminded of: 1. Marriage is rarely 50%, 50%. It’s usually more like 90%, 10% (one way or the other). Though ideally it ought to be 100%, 100%. 2. Marriage is a covenant that should always be protected. 3. Respect (action) can be more valuable than love (feeling). 4. All couples could use “counseling,” even if things aren’t that bad. 5. Some seasons are harder than others, but the difficult ones are worth walking through.
So now you’ve heard from “The Impressive Clergyman” and Stilettos to Aristotle, now let’s hear from a few others from all over the world:
“More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse.” Doug Larson (English Runner who won gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games, 1902-1981)
“Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they will not. So each is inevitably disappointed.” Albert Einstein (Physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity. Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)
“Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.” Tom Mullen
“Marriage is not a noun; it’s a verb. It isn’t something you get. It’s something you do. It’s the way you love your partner every day.” Barbara De Angelis (American researcher on relationships and personal growth)
“Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins.” Lao Tzu q (Chinese Philosopher, 600 BC-531 BC)
“Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.”
“The great secret of a successful marriage is to treat all disasters as incidents and none of the incidents as disasters.” Harold Nicolson (English Writer and Author, 1886-1968)
“One advantage of marriage is that, when you fall out of love with him or he falls out of love with you, it keeps you together until you fall in again.” Judith Viorst
“Marriage is that relation between man and woman in which the independence is equal, the dependence mutual, and the obligation reciprocal.” Louis K. Anspacher
“There is no perfect marriage, for there are no perfect men.” French Proverb
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge.” (Hebrews 13:4)
INCONCEIVABLE!
Fight for your marriage. Don’t think that it is “inconceivable” for your relationship to face hard times. Work through them as a team and together share those mountain top experiences.