Before I begin, as mentioned at the bottom of the page, I am not an attorney…more importantly I am not YOUR attorney. I am a guy that has been in the trenches with this, learned (I think) a couple of things and decided to display what I think I know. The advice is worth what you paid for it…
That being said, EVERY relationship, since the beginning of time has an amount of conflict. It is interesting when you read the book of genesis and really read and think about how all that went down. May blog my thoughts on it at a later time.
Even after what I’ve been put through, I still firmly believe in marriage and that it is the best thing for a man and a woman to be joined together forever. I will say that part of that is because my current wife is a wonderful woman. Don’t get me wrong, she (and I) have our moments. But, I have never thought of living the rest of my life without her (I have calculated the time in prison for murder, ha ha!!!)
Again, EVERY marriage/relationship is going to have some kind of conflict. Some of it can be resolved up front (by two honest people) during the “courting” phase. Be honest with who you are, what your beliefs are, goals in life, and what you want out of a relationship.
If you believe that marriage is going to be a fairy tale, stop now…its not, at least in the disneyland sense. Is it the most fulfilling thing ever and you cant imagine living your life without that person, yes!
What people don’t seem to understand is that your happiness is NOT dependent on the other person. The only person that is going to make you happy is yourself. That was a hard lesson I had to learn. Now, I derive a lot satisfaction from making Brandy happy, but my own happiness is not dependent on it.
At the beginning of the relationship, you need to establish the ground rules (and make sure everyone sticks by them) or there will be conflict (or more conflict). It is the roadmap for the rest of the relationship. Now, things will change, life happens, the plan should account for that.
Peter 3:8-9 says, “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.”
<more to come>
