Extract from "Things I wish I'd known before we got Married"

Marriage, between a man and a woman, is the foundation of all human societies. The reality is that when children become adults, most of them will get married. In the United States, each year there are over two million marriages; that is four million people who are saying ‘’I DO’’ to the question ‘’Will you have this man be your wedded husband?’’ or ‘’Will you have this woman be your wedded wife?’’ Almost all these couples anticipate ‘’living happily ever after’’. No one gets married hoping to be miserable or to make their spouse miserable. Yet we all know that the divorce rate in Western culture continues to hover around fifty percent, and the highest percentages of divorces occur within the first seven years of marriage. People do not get married planning to get divorced. Divorce is the result of a lack of preparation of marriage and the failure to learn the skills of working together as teammates in an intimate relationship. What is ironic is that we recognize the need for education in all other pursuits of life and fail to recognize the need when it comes to marriage. Most people spend far more time in preparation for their vocation than they do in preparation for marriage. Therefore, it should not be surprising that they are more successful in their vocational pursuits than they are in reaching the goal of marital happiness. The decision to get married will impact one’s life more deeply than almost any decision in life. BE PREPARED!!!