Old fashioned

This morning I heard the story of a couple in Iowa who were married for 72 years before dying in a tragic car accident this past week. They were both placed in the same room in the ICU and were holding hands when they died within an hour of each other. The husband, who died first, stopped breathing but his heart monitor showed that his heart was still beating. The nurse explained to the family that the monitor was picking his wife’s heart beat because they were holding hands.

What a beautiful story. Not only because of how their life together ended, but mostly because they got to share so much of their life with each other. 72 years… incredible! Think of the stories they got to write together and how their marriage impacted so many generations not only of their families, but also of us who learned of their story.

Who doesn’t want an experience like that in our own lives? For those of us who have started on this journey called marriage, don’t you long to share so many more years with the person you love? Almost no one enters marriage thinking that it will end soon or that divorce is how it will end. Pretty much everyone that gets married thinks it is it! You’re married for life! All our dreams come through the moment we say I do.

But then why so many divorces? Why so many broken homes? Why so much pain and sadness?

Where God has placed me at this time of my life, I have the opportunity to witness the results of broken relationships. The confusion, the shattered dreams, the tears, vanished hopes truly break my heart, but I believe that most of it comes down to this: choices! Our broken relationships are mostly the result of the choices we make.  Our choices pretty much dictate where we will go in this life including how good our marriage will be and how long it will last. And that doesn’t start the moment we say I do. It begins a lot sooner than that, before we ever even step a foot on that aisle. And it continues for the rest of our life.

That older couple from Iowa had 4 children. One of their sons said that his parents had an old fashioned marriage, where they had made up their mind to stay together until the end. If that is old fashioned marriage than I’m advocating for it and hoping that every marriage is old fashioned.

If a happy and long lasting marriage with the person you love is what you want, start making good choices today. Live a healthy life so your mind is clear to make good decisions, educate yourself, prepare well your future, choose well your friends, develop your talents. If you are already dating get to know your partner well and keep your body, that incredible gift from God, for your spouse.

If you’re already married remember to tell your spouse how much you love them. Those words are so important to be told. And not only tell them, show them. Think about their needs, make your spouse the most important person in the world. Make sure they know they are valued and valuable to you. Show them respect and never ever use words to bring your spouse down. On the contrary, build them up. Smile often, talk, go for walks, play, share, and hold hands. 

And to make sure we succeed at making good choices, there is someone who wants to help you, someone who is the definition of love, someone who wants to give you only the best and shower you with good gifts. That someone is God and He can’t wait to help you prepare for the rest of your life. Hold on to Him! That will be your best choice for sure!

Of course we live in a sinful world and it takes 2 people making good choices to have a long and happy marriage, but do your very best, starting today, to make sure your marriage relationship is one that lasts ‘till death do us part.’

http://acarelessdreamer.typepad.com/acarelessdreamer/love/

“Encourage one another, and build each other up.”
I Thessalonians 5:11

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16