It’s interesting the way things interconnect. The other day I was reading a novel by Lynne Griffin called Life without Summer. You’ll get some interesting insights about marriage and the way grief affects marriage in this novel. Since the author has been involved in family and social work, I’d suggest it is based on a certain amount of experience and knowledge of the subject.
After I’d written a review about it, I went into the author’s website and from there into her Family Life Stories blog where she makes an interesting observation about marriage. ‘To come front and center with how the culture is shaping views on fidelity, faithfulness, and honor within marriage, all you have to do is stand in line at the grocery checkout counter, surveying the covers of People and Us. Pop culture, and therefore young adults, view marriage as a dispensable commodity. When times get tough, split, breakup, divorce.’
To illustrate how right she is on this, I actually had to explain the word ‘faithful’ to a school child yesterday. They had not heard it. These days it seems to be outside the experience of many families.
Lynne goes on to talk about a TV show called Marriage Ref. Now, I haven’t seen the show and given what it’s about I’m not likely to even if it does come on in Australia. Apparently the show is based on people giving advice to couples having real life arguments. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Not! Her point was that all those giving advice to the married were celebrities either who were divorced, guilty of being abusive in the relationship or never married. How the deuce can they expect to give advice anyone would want to listen to? But then it sounds like the show was never intended to be helpful to marriage, just to get laughs or sensationalism.
She goes on to talk about what she’s discovered over her almost 22 year marriage journey, about facing challenges together especially health related issues and ‘being there for each other’ throughout all the difficulties and challenges. In the process she points to an essay by Elinor Lipman about her marriage experience. It brought tears to my eyes. That’s true love.
She finishes her blog by saying ‘Take a moment to do something today and everyday to promote marriage as something to honor.’ That sounds to me like great advice. Our society sees so much, and almost glories in, telling us about marriages that don’t work, how about focusing on marriages that do work –that do know what it is to ‘love ,honor and cherish till death do us part.’
Have you ever thought that your marriage might be the example your children and neighbors are looking at to see what marriage is like?
Related blogs
What I Love About Being Married
Will Divorce Make You Happier?