I have been sowing some seeds from the fruit of our 50 years to inspire others in their marriage. I have already addressed:

1. Keep communication lines open
2. Keep the romance alive
Now today I would like to share:
3. Be good forgivers
It is well said in the following quote:
A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers. ~Ruth Bell Graham
We make a commitment for BETTER or for WORSE! In SICKNESS and in HEALTH!
By God’s grace, I have lived through some of that WORST due to betrayal so I do understand hurt and shame but have learned that although to sin may be human, to forgive is only divine. Is it easy? – absolutely not – but with God’s grace it is possible.
Anyone can live with the BETTER but when it comes to the WORST many walk away even though “for better or for worse” was in the contract.
Likewise anyone can deal with health but many fail when it comes to sickness even though that was also in the same contract we agreed to.
Gary Thomas has written an awesome book on marriage “Sacred marriage” where he states -“what if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?” Now isn’t that some food for thought! If we are never hurt how are we ever going to learn to forgive? Please note I am not excusing the offender but I do know God can use that pain for good. Nothing is more humbling than seeking forgiveness or offering forgiveness. Something of self has to die. Humility is the hardest of all Christian virtues to become. I say become because humility is not something we do but rather it is something we are becoming. Only when we are humbled will God gave us His grace toforgive.
“You can never be happily married to another until you get a divorce from yourself. Successful marriage demands a certain death to self.” ~Jerry McCant
Heed the verse “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath” Ephesians 4:26 In doing so we are not giving the enemy any place to in our marriages.
“In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare.Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced.” ~Robert Sexton
It is always good to renew that marriage contract from time to time just to remind us of the promises in the contract which we signed. We have renewed that contract both on our 40th and 45th anniversaries. On both occasions I have carried the same white Bible I carried on my wedding day back in 1964 whose promises are ever faithful and have never changed.