How’s your marriage? (2)

Three things happen in a good marriage: (1) You get to know yourself. To grow, you must be able to look at yourself realistically, and the best place to do that is in a home filled with love. It lets you be open about your mistakes and shortcomings. It’s a safe place to fail. It creates a listening environment filled with understanding and support. The people closest to us form us. When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, she was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” She replied, “Go home and love your family.” If you want to change your world, start at home. (2) You get to know your character. A Christ-centred home not only helps form your children’s character, it strengthens yours too. Character is built on the choices you make and habits you cultivate. And since your family creates your primary environment, it influences those choices and habits. Strong families encourage us to make good choices, develop the right disciplines, and pay the price today for success tomorrow. (3) You have a safe haven. It seems like the pace of life gets more hectic every day. Driving on overcrowded roads is stressful. The workplace is demanding. The schoolyard is an increasingly hostile environment. Where can you find shelter? If not at home, then probably nowhere. Theodore Roosevelt said, “I’d rather spend time with my family than with any of the world’s notables.” His home was his safe haven in the midst of life’s storms—and yours can be too. The question is: what are you doing to make it that way?