I will speak from my heart. I am no longer married but I think that marriage can be a beautiful thing. Marriage by itself is not good or bad on its own. It depends what both people bring to the relationship. It is like friendships. You can be terribly hurt, grow apart or find that friend who helps you see the beauty in yourself that you've never seen or forgotten.
The difficulty is that a marriage is a union of two flawed people. There are no other options. If both of you are sincere in wanting to grow in Christ, if you want the happiness of the other person, if you are kind, gentle, honest, faithful, hopeful, living the fruit of the spirit, it can be phenomenal. One of the keys is each person's ability to forgive, because there are times when we will disappoint each other. We will not always be at our best or meet the other person's expectation. There will be pain. There will be crisis. Why do it? Because it is amazing to know that to someone else, you are the sun, moon and stars. It is wonderful to know that you have a hand to hold to face the world, to know that that person wants to cheer your victories and hold you in the dark times. It is great to explore the world together and to share it all. It feels great to have someone who knows what makes you laugh, what will encourage you and help you to reflect.
One of the hard parts of marriage is that it holds a mirror up to you when you least expect or want it. That is also one of the most valuable things. It is how we grow. When it is done with love, it makes you a better person. We need the encouragement, support, challenge and responsibility. We need lives that are not all about our own wants. We need to learn to give and compromise. A life with sacrifice grows us as Christians. It can't be a power play. Love, pray,forgive, grow, laugh and love some more. Marriage can be a beautiful things if it is a commitment to do the hard and precious work of love.
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