A pastor went speak to a group of fourth graders on the topic of marriage. He asked, “I wonder if anyone of you know what God has to say about marriage?”

Immediately one little boy was waving his hand back and forth and the pastor called on him and said, “Ok, what does God have to say about marriage?”

The little boy replied, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

The truth is, none of really understood what we were getting into when we first married. The number one problem in marriage is unrealistic expectations. We expect the other person to meet all our needs without considering their needs in the process. In my marriage, it took me about 10 years to understand that. How long has it taken you?

Over breakfast one morning a woman asked her husband, “If I died would you remarry?” “Probably,” he responded.

“Would she live in our house, sleep in our bed, and use my golf clubs?” his wife asked. “No,” he replied, “she’s left-handed!”

Love may be blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener! The truth is, there are times in every marriage when you just have to grit your teeth, pray for grace, and remember your commitment before God. Nevertheless, there are many reasons to celebrate your marriage.

Anita and I have been married 35 years! Some of the times have been extremely difficult for both of us. We are both very opinionated and both think we’re right. But it has taken us 35 years work work through the difficulties until we know each others likes and dislikes like we do today. Do you realize how difficult it would be to start that process all over again? No way, Josè! I’m stickin’ with her.

Mike Mayberry of Manchester, Missouri, told the following story to Reader’s Digest:

“Determined to have one last, lazy day of fishing before summer’s end, I purposely ignored the leaky faucet and the broken gate – household projects that had awaited me all summer. When my wife asked, “What are you going to do today?” I grinned and answered, “It starts with F and ends with ISH.”

“OH, good,” she replied, “You’re finally going to FinISH up those projects.”

One of the primary roles of a husband is to make his wife feel secure. When she develops that honey-do list and posts it on the refrigerator (or wherever she posts it), she has transferred that responsibility over to him. She assumes it will get done in a timely manner.

It is a wise man that doesn’t feed her insecurity by making her feel uncovered in a dark world. If you’re going to put it off, tell her when you’ll do it – and keep your word. Thus shall you make your wife feel secure and under your protective cover.

Most probably you have never heard of Quanah Parker. He was a native American Indian chief. The son of a Comanche Indian chief and a captured English girl, Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah was fluent in English and studied American laws so he could help his people with property and water rights laws with white people. He became a lead spokesman for Indians in the early 1900s.

He became friends with President Teddy Roosevelt and went on hunting trips with him. Quanah was summoned to the White House to meet with the President. Roosevelt informed Quanah that having five wives was against the law of the land. He looked into Quanah’s face as if wanting an answer to the dilemma and wanting Quanah to commit to one wife only.

Quanah paused and, with a sly grin, he said, “You tell ‘um which one.”

Obviously, the President couldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole.

Missionaries in Africa today have the same dilemma. Most missionaries just leave the issue alone and expect the problem to clear itself up in the next generation as Christ is taught in the culture.

How would you answer the question?

One day, a man came home from work and his wife greeted him. “I’ve got good news and bad news,” she said.

He swallowed hard and said he’d like the good news first.

“The air bag works,” she said.

You can’t have a healthy marriage without some difficulties. When problems arise, they reveal to us areas where we need to improve. How do we deal with our spouse’s irresponsibility? How do we react when their mistake costs us money? We all have to deal with these things. Either we damage the relationship or it grows. And its up to us. And the test is coming. How will you react?

• The poverty rate for children living in single-parent homes is five times the rate for children living with two parents.
• Divorced men experience an average 42% rise in their standard of living in the first year after divorce, while divorced women (and their children) experience a 73% decline.
• School-age children living with a parent and stepparent, or divorced mother only, are 40% to 75% more likely to repeat a grade and 70% more likely to be expelled from school.
• Children who grow up in fractured families are less likely to graduate from high school than children from intact families.
• A disproportionate number of runaway teens come from step-parent households.
• Young sons often experience nightmares and a “father hunger” soon after the dad leaves home. In their teens, they are more likely to have increased levels of aggression, gang membership and other emotions and behavioral problems.
• Young daughters of divorce often experience anxiety and guilt. In their teens, they are more likely to be sexually involved, marry younger, be pregnant more often before marriage, and become divorced or separated from their eventual husbands.
• Children of divorce typically experience depression, drug and alcohol experimentation and a diminished ability to form lasting relationships.

Source: Free to Be Family, published by the Family Research Council, a division of Focus on the Family.