On Monday the 19th of September I had my 3 month postoperative check-up to make sure the ACL reconstruction I recently had was healing according to plan. While sitting in the waiting room I happened to find a tabloid magazine that has followed Europe’s royalty over the past 20 years highlighting both the fairy tale like weddings but also the devastating marital break-ups experienced by the royal couples.
I suppose deep down inside I almost expected the prince and princess to get married and ride off into the sunset to begin their new life together as husband and wife, a life full of promise, romance, and above all, love. It would appear from the article that even royalty face the same problems and challenges that ordinary people like you and me face. The point is deep down inside we all want to live happily ever after but no one has ever told us how this is supposed to happen, or why it succeeds if it does.
So how does a couple live happily ever after? With experts on the web chiming in with advice on how to have successful marriages you would expect the success rate to be much better. However, the article did reveal a very important point and that is that a lot of people (including royalty) go into marriage with their eyes half shut. They are in a rush to get married. And that is a big mistake.
Now being married with the same women for the past twenty years – which today is considered by some to be a major accomplishment – has actually taught me a few very important lessons in life. First of all marriage is hard work. If a marriage is not growing it is dying, there is no middle ground. Also, a marriage is filled with ups and downs and quite a few compromises. But ultimately I believe marriage depends on two things: Finding the right person and more importantly being the right person.
To be honest with you I truly believe that no man or woman can ever meet the deepest needs of our lives. Instead, our contentment should first and foremost come from a living dynamic relationship with God. Only then as the Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out can we begin to understand the importance of finding the right person and being the right person.
God bless
Berny