Love Never Gives Up

I know I haven't posted in awhile. I've been choosing to focus what little energies I have on my family instead of writing. But I feel an urgent need to reach out to any of you reading. Our world is so full of misery and divorce and I believe that marriage is intended to be something wonderful.

It's NOT easy, but it can be good. Just like raising kids isn't easy, but it's good. Friendships aren't always easy, but they can be good. I worry that our society has lost the skills, knowledge and resiliency to keep marriages alive. I'm not knocking those who's marriages have ended. I don't know your story and I'm not passing judgement. I just want to somehow encourage those who are still in a marriage to keep pressing on. It seems so rare to find examples of marriages that last, real-life ones or even fictional!
And I know too many marriages that may be in a lonely, or feeling hopeless state (I've been there too) I want to save them from crumbling.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

This is a great verse, often quoted, but how often do we actually DO it? I'm learning new depths to this verse, and new ways to put it into practice almost every day. Am I always patient and kind? Am I not jealous of the seeming alone time, relax time, sleep-in time, or time to enjoy his hobbies? Do I keep my comments to myself if I seem to excel in an area he struggles, and am I careful not to offend even if I think he's being too sensitive? Do I make demands but no allowances? Am I irritable? (And before first coffee is not an adequate excuse.) Do I focus on the current issue instead of dragging up past history? Am I grateful for truth even if it means my faults end up in the spotlight? And do I always believe in his good intentions, even if his actions don't always show it very well? Do I keep my faith alive? Do I remain confidently hopeful that we will make it to the other side of whatever situation we're currently in? Not easy, but very very good.

So I'm asking any of you who have a story from within your marriage that tells of perseverance, of enduring hope. Our stories are not complete and I'm sure we will all face obstacles in the future, but right now if you have an encouraging story to share please do. If you don't think you do, try writing your story in the third person. It's amazing the heroes and heroines that emerge in our own lives when we step back and imagine our life as if it was someone else's.

(Feel free to post anonymously or send me an email with your story and I'll post it in third person for you. gunter.ell@gmail.com)

Looking forward to cheering each other on together!