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Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Special Treat ? Cheryl Williams

February 14, 2008

Reflections on Married Love for Valentine's Day

Cheryl Williams

Marriage is something we enter into with a lot of hope inside of us.? We recite our vows of better and worse without truly knowing how bad "worse" can actually get.? But to anyone who has been married for any length of time, it is inevitable.? The "worse" always comes along at some point, and when it does it is not always when we are on a romantic high like we are on that day we walk down the aisle and recite our vows.? On that day, it is not even in our realm of thinking that anything could tear us apart.

But life is difficult, and married life is not one long romantic adventure.? There are money problems, in-law problems.? There is job loss, illness.? Children come and as a result, there is less alone time together.

Husbands begin spending more time at the office in order to make ends meet.? Wives spend more and more time on childcare and household duties.? And these days, there is a combination of all of these duties.? As a result, husbands and wives both end up feeling neglected.? When stress enters our lives, many things come into play that can toy with the love that we have for one another.

Respect seems to get lost in a litany of words we spout out, but don't really mean.? Love seems to get lost in all of the day to day noise that seems to infiltrate our lives.

We forget how we felt on our wedding day.? We forget that love, that hope, that feeling of being able to face anything as long as we are together.? We forget our vows, our commitment.? Very often we dream of escape.? We start thinking someone else could love us more, treat us with more respect.

But the truth is, problems are a part of life.? Marriage does not save us from any of those problems.? Marriage is supposed to give us a partner to share those problems with.? We need to remember that our spouse is not our enemy.? And we need to remember those feelings we had on our wedding day.

Very often, once we are married, we stop trying.? Men spend more time with the remote control than they do with their wives.? Wives spend more time with the children or?our friends than?our husbands.? Real conversations get lost in the mundane topics of day to day living. We rarely share our thoughts, our feelings, our dreams.? We rarely open up and allow ourselve to be vulnerable with each other as we did in the beginning of our relationship.

This Valentine's Day is a wonderful time to renew our commitment and our love for each other as husbands and wives.? The vows we took are sacred, and the way is not easy.? But the fact that it is not easy makes it that much more valuable.? To be able to work through problems and come out on the other side stronger as a couple is what marriage is all about.? Yes, giving in or looking for an escape from our lives is often the easy way...but not the most fulfilling way.

This Valentine's Day, try and remember what led you to fall in love with your spouse in the first place.? Wives, go the extra mile in showing him how much he means to you.? And husbands...show your wives that you know what she wants by giving her what she wants.? I guarantee it isn't something that costs a lot of money.? She wants to know that you truly love her...and that's it.

Happy Valentine's Day!?

Cheryl Williams