Many people (a lot of them old church ladies) gave us the same piece of advice when we got married in 2001. It turned out to be the most useful marriage advice I would ever receive.
When times get tough, hold onto each other.
I’ll admit that those words went in one ear and out the other. In fact, my 22-year-old self thought they were all being a bit pessimistic. I mean here we were young, in love and starting our life together. Who wanted to think about things getting tough during such a happy time? It turns out those old church ladies were on to something.
Through the years we had some bumps in the road, but nothing hit harder than the day our world turned upside down. On that day there was nothing else to do but hold onto each other. When the road was bumpy and it was hard to see when it was going to smooth out, we were still holding onto each other.
If I could give advice to young couples beginning the journey of marriage, it would be to
Put God first and hold onto each other when times get tough.
It’s not pessimistic. It’s filled with the knowledge that life is unfair. There will come a time when you need each other more than anything else.
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