Transitions in Marriage

 In my last blog post, I had talked about dating and building a strong relationship with someone else. In this post, I'm going to talk about the transition from dating into marriage. 

    I believe I mentioned this last time, but lots of people are scared of commitment. The number of people cohabiting instead of getting married is rapidly increasing. In class today, my professor said how in Idaho, it's easier to get out of a marriage than it would be a housing contract. Now staying on the idea of contract, what is the difference between a contract and a covenant? A Contract is a legally settled agreement, while a covenant is more of a spiritual agreement. A covenant is a two-way promise, a pledge. To think of marriage as a covenant rather than a contract makes it mean so much more. We want to keep our covenants with each other and with God. Often times our partner can come up short. They can frustrate or hurt us in ways, but just try and remember the promises we've made with each other and our Heavenly Father. A lot of people take the easy road out and end the marriage in divorce, but the harder and more worthwhile path of working things out and staying with your most cherished one is by far the best option. There are many things that try to tear families apart. Precautions we can take before we enter into marriage is keeping the Law of Chastity. Keeping our thoughts and mind clear of sin and abstaining from sexual relations with others before marriage will significantly benefit your future marriage. 

    Something else I learned in class today was that when you're sealed in the temple when you finally do get married, the sealing isn't actually just a one and done kinda deal. You have to continuously strive to keep your marriage covenants and be a loving spouse in order to be sealed by the Holy Spirit. The sealing cannot be valid unless we fully commit to our relationship and follow our covenant path. 

    Most divorces happen in the first 1-5 years of marriage. When I heard what one of the leading causes of this was, I was a bit surprised. The reason is that marital satisfaction goes down after having the first child. Typically the husband will feel like he has less attention. The Mother is always taking care of and feeding the baby and there is less time for the married couple to spend with each other. They can't have date night every night or go on long walks anymore. They have a new responsibility in taking care of their child. Even if the baby becomes the main focus, that doesn't mean that your relationship has to dwindle. Split responsibilities, make decisions together, continue to have conversations with each other. This will help you to stay close. 

    Overall, the transition can be hard from the dating life to marriage, but sticking with it is 100% worth it. I haven't been married myself, but I promise that life will be so much better if you're in a loving relationship bound by marriage.