Page 162 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2018

THEFINALSAY
CAROL
LYNN MEADOWS
After the wedding...
All the tuxedos have been returned, hundreds of pictures selected, the last of the borrowed items returned; and yes, the last of the thank-you notes have been written. All the preparations, the parties, the flowers, the ceremony —
all have led to the moment when you were pronounced “husband and wife”— when two individuals blend into one “couple” with shared goals and dreams. Let the marriage begin.
How is that blending accomplished for a life-time together? Ah, that may be the great mystery of all times. Obviously, it doesn’t always work out easily or at all.
With the divorce rate nearly 50 percent for first marriages, young couples are wise to know the pitfalls and challenges facing them if they want their vows to be meaningful in the years to come.
The relationship begins in covenant. On the day of the wedding, a covenant was made between two individuals betrothing themselves “to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”
After 58 years of marriage, my observations confirm that marriages are made or broken in what I call the “trenches” of marriage — the worse, the poorer, the sickness times. These are the make or break times. The certainty of the “trenches” prompts the question: How do we navigate those treacherous waters so that we have a good marriage that lasts until ‘death do us part?’
I would offer four words based on a passage of Scripture taken from Psalms 37: 3 – 5. The passage describes the intimate relationship that David desires with God; these
words can easily be applied to the intimate relationship in a marriage.
(1) Trust — trust in each other and be trust worthy for the other.
(2) Dwell — abide in the marriage; work as a team toward common and individual goals, while allowing the individual personalities to flourish and enhance the marriage. Be a cheerleader for each other.
(3) Delight — cherish and embrace the differences in personality, applaud the successes, encourage the potential of each spouse, never criticize the other in public or to a friend.
(4) Commit — determine that above all things, this marriage is your first priority. Commit to working through the difficult times, to resolving problems with the intention of making a stronger marriage, and to keeping your pledge to love and to cherish as long as you both shall live.
Marriage is a wondrously glorious covenant when two people are dedicated to each other in love and in respect. That love will grow and blossom if their life together is founded on a mutual commitment to enriching the life of the other.
The last word — statistics prove that marriages founded on biblical principles have a far greater chance of being marriages that last “until death do us part.”
162 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • February 2018
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