The following definition of love and marriage is a time-tested formula that would be hard to improve on: ‘Love is friendship that has caught fire. It’s quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing, and forgiving. It’s loyalty through good times and bad. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weakness. Love is content with the present, hopes for the future, and refuses to brood over the past. It’s the day in and day out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working together towards common goals. If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you don’t, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough.’ The Bible says, ‘Relish [enjoy, savour, delight, and take pleasure in] life with the spouse you love…every day…Make the most of each one!’ And if you want to make your marriage work, observe these five rules: 1) Never both be angry at once, and never yell – unless the house is on fire. 2) Yield to each other. If you have to choose between making yourself or your mate look good – always choose your mate. 3) Neglect the whole world rather than each other, and never let a day end without saying at least one complimentary thing to the one you love. 4) Never meet without an affectionate welcome, and never go to bed angry. 5) When you make a mistake, talk it out and ask for forgiveness. Now, since God came up with the idea of marriage, pray and ask Him for help with yours. He will do it!

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.