What happened to Marriage?

As I counsel different people about their relationships/marriages, I can't help but wonder, what happened to marriage? What happened to the FOREVERNESS and the SACREDNESS? I am so tired of hearing people talking about taking half and/or losing half. I just don't understand it. Why marry if you're already planning for dissolution before it even begins? Marriage is such a beautiful thing. A union between TWO people VOWING to love eachother for their natural lives! It is ordained by God and pleasing in His eyes. The beauty of it has been tainted by society's materialism, coupled with infidelity, due to people's lack of respect. It's really heart breaking.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am praying for a LIFE long partner. I am in it for better or WORSE, for sickness or health, til DEATH do we part. I could care less about half. I want a WHOLE marriage with a WHOLE husband/father/friend. Half just won't do! I take care of Merchon, so half means nothing to me. I want a marriage like the olden days...one filled with respet and love, surviving anything....exemplifying daily that they are ONE.

I've seen a marriage of 57 years with my grandparents and 31 years with my parents, so I know that marriage is constant work. Marriage is HARD work, but HEART work. I've seen infidelity....sickness....confusion....dipping family members.....turmoil....but more importantly, I've seen LOVE and FORGIVENESS. I am aware that NO relationship is conflict free, which is why communication is essential in conflict resolution. Discussing your concerns BEFORE they become problems is the KEY to making your marriage/relationship work. My parents' and grandparents' marriages weren't always great but they had love and they worked hard to sustain their marriage. I can't say that I would be able to work through infidelity but I know it can be done. I've witnessed it. I see the love...the commitment. And I can only imagine how comforting it must be to KNOW that you always have someone in your corner that GENUINELY loves you and has YOUR BEST interest at heart, NO MATTER WHAT!!! Now THAT'S a MARRIAGE, so don't cheat yourself!!! You must enter into it knowing that there will be trials and tribulations but anything worth having is worth working for and waiting for! So stick it out.

You just need to be meticulous in your observations and diligent in your selection. Take time in your dating and indulge in A LOT of conversation so that you can learn what really lies beneath the surface. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. Choosing a mate is about more than beauty, body and other superficial things. People go wrong by the things they put importance on. You have to pay attention to a persons values, goals, and compassion. Someone who's less concerned with material things and more concerned with life, love, and happiness. Someone with virtues. They still exist. You just have to be more patient and wiser in your search.

Despite society depreciating marriage's importance to the equivalent of a "social" event, I STILL value it's SACREDNESS. That is why I haven't jumped into marriage. I am meticulous in my observations and diligent in my selection. I understand that there is no such thing as a perfect person. However, FOREVER is a very long time and I refuse to spend it with the WRONG one.

Marriage is a beautiful union between TWO people ordained by God. It is honorable and deserving of the utmost respect and appreciation. It should be entered into with the intention of being together forever. When families split, not only do you lose a part of you, but if you have kids, they are affected. So please, be diligent in your selection and choose wisely. More importantly, PRAY about it. And until God sends who HE has for YOU, continue to work on you and strive to become the person God wants you to be. And I will be doing the same. SMOOCHES♥

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