The Glue that binds love together

By listening to how people talk about their courtship and then the marital relationship in the marriage, experts may be able to predict whether a marriage is on track or headed for the divorce court. University of Washington researchers predicted marital breakups within three years with nearly 94 percent accuracy. They did this simply by interviewing married couples and evaluating what was said, as well as attitudes exhibited, by the couples. Couples who spoke fondly of their courtship, were proud of their struggles to make the marriage work. And those who showed signs of affection for one another were unlikely to break up. Couples who exhibited a resignation to difficulties rather than a willingness to work to make things better were not likely to last. The researchers said that if, during the interviews, the husband seemed withdrawn, unaffectionate, and critical, the marriage was almost always doomed. If we hold our marriage in honor, this information can help us assess where we are building a strong foundation and where we might be headed for trouble. Where there is distance between us, whether in lack of affection or in unwillingness to work through the inevitable difficulties we face, we obviously need to close the gap. God wants our marriage to be all that it can be. It's been proven that the presence of Christ in the marriage gives grace to marriage. It gives a blessing and a power beyond the ordinary. When you think about it, it's not a coincidence that marriage is the favorite image the Bible uses for the marital relationship between God and his people. Jesus spoke of himself as the bridegroom and the church as his bride. There is something divine in true marriage. It's like a triangle. God glues the husband to the wife with his own blood. The truth to that is that every Christian marriage has the miracle of God's presence. However, how conscious we are of God's presence, and how dependent upon him we are, is up to us individually. As you invite Jesus into your marriage relationship, he introduces his reconciling love into your lives. Your lives together will adhere to each other just as glue bonds two articles and it will be done through your willing faithfulness (My thoughts with This Love We Share by Harry and Emily Griffith). Sherry