Marriage, depending on who we speak with, is a beautiful thing! Some of us dream of being married from a young age. Some because of the marriages we saw in our families and others because of the marriages we saw in the movies. The man and woman meet. They fall in love. They get engaged and together plan a beautiful fairytale wedding and (let's say it together), they live “Happily Ever After.”

Let's stop there. I can tell you that the “Happily Ever After," is not a lie, but it's not the FULL truth. The truth is it’s difficult and it tests your faith, your patience, and your values. You can live happily ever after, but it will not be every day and it will not be easy.

I recently read an article about someone saying that she was “struggling” in her marriage. She said that one day she couldn’t picture herself without her husband and the very next day, she was trying to figure out why or if she liked him in the first place. I found it funny that she felt she was “struggling," because if many married couples want to be honest, we all feel that way sometimes. That's not the bad part and it's not wrong to feel those emotions. That's not what will end your Happily Ever After.

What will end your Happily Ever After is being in a relationship and suppressing your feelings to portray a fairytale marriage that's a nightmare? What will end your Happily Ever After is agreeing with everything our spouse wants and believes as we die inside, yet smile on the outside at the next family get together or business event? What will end your Happily Ever After is allowing our spouse to use and abuse us (physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually) and we take it because we heard somewhere that love can sometimes hurt.

Well, I am going to set the record straight.

The idea of love hurts does not mean to allow our spouse to manipulate, abuse, or belittle us. Love hurts does not mean enduring this type of pain now or for the rest of our lives. Love and marriage are a journey that never ends. Love hurts means that we are two imperfect people seeking to find balance in loving ourselves and our spouse. It means that sometimes we may say something hurtful, but we are willing to realize our hurtful ways and change. Love hurts because of growing pains. We grow as adults and find that some of the things we believe are LIES and we have to break old habits to go to the next level in our personal growth and our relationships.

So, happily ever after can come true, but it will take each spouse moving towards discovering how to love themselves and as a result, loving our spouses better.

I read somewhere that love is patient and kind. That loves is not envious or conceited and it’s not too proud to beg. Love will not diss you or be selfish, or record everything you do wrong. Love will not be happy in doing wrong to you but always wants to know the truth. Love will always protect you and have faith in you and hold strong through good and bad. But most of all Love never fails.

TAKEAWAYS

Marriage is beautiful and it's fulfilling but it's not easy. To have a happily ever after we must learn to love ourselves and then our spouse. What does happily ever after look like in real life you ask? It looks like a couple that stuck it out when one of us loses a parent, a grandparent, or a close friend. It means we still love each other after a miscarriage or the death of our child. It means coming back together after we’ve done each other wrong. It means being at the doctor or counseling office to hold each other's hand in a struggle. It means being there when we lose a job, a car, a house, or any earthly treasure. It means enduring life’s losses….Together!

Please remember that in marriage we must have and hold one another. To do so, we must each give ourselves completely to the other and hold each other when we can do or say nothing else.

Love never fails and your marriage will not either if you believe in working for the Happily Ever After.

Thank you for spending some time reading my blog. Kindly check my Blog Page for more Marriage Advice and Motivational Articles. ❤❤❤