THE SECRET TO KEEPING THE LOVE FIRE BURNING IS TO BEAR IN MIND TO MAKE A RECIPROCAL CALL AND MAKE OUR SPOUSE FEEL NUMBER ONE AND SPECIAL IN OUR RELATIONSHIP.
Prior to one’s wedding day, how many of us do any reading on marriages and relationships? Most of us embark on this sacramental journey with very little preparation, in fact, we think marriage, like parenthood becomes for us an ‘on the job’ learning situation.
As a society, we put so much emphasis into one day, which is our wedding day, and yet in a blink of an eye, the sun sets on that day and only faint memories remain.
Armando and I have been married for 46 years and sometimes we wonder how has this union, this relationship, lasted this long? We, certainly, have had many tricky moments when it has been difficult to ‘see’ the other spouse with a loving heart.
Faith, Hope, Love, the greatest of these is Love. 1Cor.13:13
Our Faith determines our decisions as it did many years ago during a beautiful nuptial mass when we became husband and wife. Our Faith has been our fortress against the ever-pressing secular pressures of the outside world. As a couple, we realized faith is best kept alive if it is nurtured, so our commitment to our church and our relationship with Jesus was paramount. God became the silent, third party in this relationship right from the ‘get go.’
If we are experiencing any differences between us, the Sign of Peace during mass has always been and still is our catalyst to move on, and to start afresh with a peaceful heart. We also find that receiving communion together as a couple and welcoming the prince of peace into our lives, we are open to reach out to each other in a more loving and peaceful way.
Hope is important to have in all areas of life but more so in a marriage as it gives us a driving force to continue to work in maintaining our beautiful relationships.
Everyday, we know we need to commit ourselves to our pledge to see each other through the eyes of Love. Love and respect are two key ingredients for a healthy, harmonious marital relationship. St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians was suggesting that the new Christians can show faith and hope in all their dealings with each other but without love for one another, their efforts would be futile. So too, in a marriage, if the foundation which is love is missing, the union of two people can become shaky and crumble. The secret to keeping the love fire burning is to bear in mind to make a reciprocal call and make our spouse feel number one and special in our relationship.
As a married, veteran couple, this relationship has taught us that there is no perfect relationship, but with a mutual commitment to work at it, a marital relationship can succeed and be life-giving to the couple and to others.
Over the years, we have learnt that marriage is about two imperfect people looking out for each other with Faith in God, Hope in our commitment, Love and respect as our common ground, and together with our silent partner, God, who is the Perfect Love.