If It's Broke - Fix It!

So during my random internet trolling I came across this picture including the quote:

Now I have no idea if this is a true story, or not, but the sentiment is true!

I wouldn't pretend to know everyone's situation. That would be presumptuous. But I think in this day and age we are quick to throw away something that breaks. Car breaks down, instead of fixing it, we trade it in on a new one. If a household appliance breaks we just toss it out, buy a new one. My grandparents have been married 50+ years. They have had their toaster that they received as a wedding gift for the same amount of time. It has broken, but my grandfather just keeps fixing it. If they feel that way towards a toaster, think how much more they feel that way towards their marriage. So what happened? When did it change? 

There was a time in my marriage where EVERYTHING was wrong. We only had one child at the time, and we both had stable jobs, so it would have been easy for both of us to walk away and chalk it up to experience. 

But we didn't, and I am so thankful because our marriage went from ok, to horrible, to awesome. 

My first couple of months of marriage were blissful. Newly married with a new baby, our own little apartment, and good jobs on the horizon, everything was looking great. But towards the end of the first year, the newly wed haze had worn off. Life wasn't all rainbows and butterflies like I thought it was going to be. We stopped talking to one another. We stopped being together intimately. He played video games and I went out. We were heading towards disaster at a quick clip. Then things came to a head. I had done things to hurt him and he had done some not so nice things to me as well. I left for a couple days to stay with family, not really telling them what was going on. We had a choice to make. Walk away, and let it go, or suck it up, deal with our problems head on, and keep our vows. We sucked it up and dealt with it. Why? Because as my husband said, "Even if we don't like each other very well right now, we used to. And I am a man of word. I promised you and I promised God."

Yes, we could have walked away. Eventually we would have met other people. Maybe that would have worked out, maybe it wouldn't have. But we stayed together. We put each other first, even though it was difficult at first. After awhile it became easy. Before we got married (well even before we dated) we were best friends. And now six years in, we are best friends again, and more in love than we ever were when got married. 

I'm not a counselor or therapist, but I do know that marriages are worth saving. If you find yourself in a situation where you are no longer happy, you should seek the counsel of your pastor or a licensed professional. If you and your husband are looking for a way to reconnect, I suggest "The Love Dare". Even if you aren't a Christian, the principles apply. 

If you have a great marriage, share what works! Different things work for different people, and sharing what works for you and yours might help others!