According to the CDC, as of Dec. 2008 the US divorce rate is just a fraction under 50 percent. America, we are doing something wrong.
Divorce can be prevented by simply waiting to tie the knot. We cannot manipulate the pace of love; it varies with each individual and within each couple. When it’s right, you really do “just know”. But that doesn’t mean you should book the chapel the moment it feels right. From day one, I knew Chris, now my husband, was going to be a huge part of my life. When I came home from our first date, I shut the front door, walked over to my father as I giddily swung my purse alongside me, and said, “I am defiantly seeing him again!” I knew then, and married him eight and a half years later. Yes, we waited an unusually long time before we got married, but perhaps that’s part of why I was so sure and blissful when we finally did. I had no doubts. We had spent enough time with each other to dispel all uncertainty and see that what we had, we wanted to keep forever. Chris and I were lucky enough to have a very powerful connection from the beginning, but our story is rare. Committing your life to another person while the relationship is still young does not make sense, no matter how sure you are. Love must be given time to cycle through its natural highs and lows before the sacrament of marriage is received.
Additionally, good, old fashion, hard work can save marriages. The institution of marriage was not designed to be easy, even when it’s with the right person. Many marriages today crumble quickly when faced with challenges. For example, parents of multiples are more likely to divorce than other married couples. The same is true for couples who experience the death of a child. Problems with finances and children top the list of reasons why people divorce. Stress could bring you together, if you choose to face it as a team. You must compromise, truly open your mind to other views of the world, and even decide to live with things you don’t agree with but cannot change. You must genuinely accept your spouse, just the way they are. Be their strength when they have none, and carry them when the weight of the world has left them flattened to the earth.
Marriage a life-long journey with lessons that can take years or even decades to reveal themselves. Over time, we are shown the beauty, meaning, and true value of this union of souls. Value of this magnitude must be protected and supported by all. Society needs to re-evaluate the degree of importance placed upon the sacrament of holy matrimony, and help put an end to the plague of broken homes in America.
