I read a digital article in the Liahona this month about marriage. The article is titled, "Three Insights into Building a Firm Foundation in Marriage," by Natalie Clay. I will share four paragraphs from the article:
Many of us expect a lot from marriage—self-fulfillment or some magical happiness we didn’t find while we were single. But if we’re not careful, we can develop expectations around what we think marriage should be instead of seeking to understand what the Lord has determined marriage is (Natalie).
Marriage as a holy order based on enduring covenants, duties, and lifelong sacrifice stands in stark contrast to a modern secular concept of marriage. That worldly formulation has virtually nothing to do with losing your life in service to family or in self-sacrifice for spouse and children (quoting Elder David A. Bednar).
Fortunately, marriages can be a work-in-progress! What if, instead of expecting marriage to automatically bring us more happiness, we viewed it as an opportunity to sacrifice and serve each other—for two flawed people to be more humble, to grow, and to become more Christlike (Natalie)?
It might feel scary to get rid of the expectation that marriage should be perpetual bliss. But as we replace this with a commitment to sacrifice for one another--as Elder Bednar described--we better align our lives with Christ (Natalie).
I have pondered the message of these four paragraphs a lot this week. I love the idea of going into something, such as marriage, with the proper perspective and expectations. Marriage is a commitment to sacrifice and serve one another, and so is parenthood. There is much joy, pleasure, and happiness along the way, but the expectation is that it will be something we strive and work at. Marriage is an opportunity to jump in and unselfishly seek the happiness of the other, becoming more Christlike, more Godlike along the way.
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