Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage the little things are the big things…
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say. “I love you”, at least once each day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives: it is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is finding the room for the things of the sprit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship a counseled by Louis K. Anspacher, in which “the independence is equal, the dependence is mutual and obligation is reciprocal.”
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best, as expressed in the words Mark Twain used in a tribute to his wife; “Wherever she was, there was Eden.”
Written by Wilfred Peterson in 1960.
