Healthy Marriages

I'm taking a class this semester called The Family. Most of us, I dare say all of us are in families.
We read a chapter this week called Foundational Processes for an Enduring, Healthy Marriage. If only I had read that chapter before my own marriage failed. Sad thing is, I had this book in my home before my divorce and never read it. Who would have thought this book that my parents gave me many many years ago would be used as a text book in one of my classes. Crazy!

The chapter talks about Foundational processes where the actions couples take in relationship to each other help the marriage flourish and grow. It gives 6 processes that lead to "marital virtue based interactions as well as key interpersonal processes that bless marriages and prevent disruption."

I obviously can't copy the entire book and everything it says about each process but I can tell you what the process are.


Process #1- Personal Commitment to the Marriage Covenant
Process # 2- Love and Friendship
Process # 3- Positive Interaction
Process #4- Accepting Influence from One's Spouse
Process # 5- Respectfully Handle Differences and Solve Problems
Process#6- Continuing Courtship through the Years

Every single one of these are important and needed in a healthy, happy marriage. Even though you may not have ready this book, you know just be reading these headings that they are important concepts for a marriage. Right?

Elder F. Burton Howard of the Quorum of the Seventy of the of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said "If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it, You never abuse it. You don't expose it to the elements. You don't make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by. Eternal Marriage is just like that. We need to treat it just that way."

So, look again at those processes above. Does your marriage have all of those or need any of those? What can you do now to change the way you treat your spouse? Do you appreciate each other? Do you encourage and help each other to grow? Take a look at your relationship right now and do what it takes to make it better. It's too late for the marriage that I failed at but it's not to late (or too early) to work on how to make a future marriage (hopefully) be as happy and healthy as possible. I only hope I get the chance.