Sharing Time: Can One Have a “Happily Ever After”?
- Published on Monday, 06 February 2012 23:49
- Category: Features
Reva Lachica Moore
“Is God interested in my relationships? Is He interested in my happiness? Does He look at me and see what I want? Does He want to make me happy as a parent does his child? Does it hurt Him to see me struggle or hurt?” Sickened over another breakup with his girlfriend, my friend John bombarded me with questions.
Marriage is one of the most-awaited events a young person looks forward to. And a fairytale wedding is what every young woman dreams about besides a wish to live together with her spouse happily ever after.
There are approximately 2,230,000 marriages in the U.S. each year. Of this great number of happy happenings, a great number of very devastating and painful happenings (divorces) also occur. Between 850,000 and 950,000 divorces occur in the U.S. each year.
Many couples opt to live together prior to getting engaged or married hoping to lessen their chances of splitting up down the road, however, this does not guarantee their success of staying together for life.
A study by the National Center for Health Statistics showed that this practice of cohabitating before marriage did not really matter that much. Researchers surveyed 13,000 men and women between the ages of 15 and 44 and discovered the following:
· 65% of women who moved in with their future husband after getting engaged – but before getting married -- made it to the 10-year anniversary mark (compared to 66% who waited until they were married);
· 71% of men who moved in with their future wife after getting engaged -- but before getting married -- made it to the 10-year anniversary mark (compared to 69% who waited until they were married);
I told John that God loves him so much and wants for him be happy and that the right thing to do is to ask God to help him with his relationships.“ Ask God to send you a “special someone” from Him and you will have a happy married life.”
It is difficult to have a great relationship where two people can agree on things always and live happily ever after. Only through God’s help and guidance would a couple have marital bliss that will last in spite of many challenges.
John dated his girlfriend for 10 years but in those 10 years, they broke up many times. John would call me during those bad times asking for advice and prayer. And all I could do was pray and be there for my young friend.
With their ten-year-relationship starting when they were teenagers, they both had actually grown up together. They always found quality time together and gave each other gifts to show their love for each other.
But then they broke up again for the last time and this time it seemed they couldn’t patch up their broken relationship. John had a temper, which was the cause of the young couple’s problems always. Their separation devastated them both. John tried making new relationships, but he was not happy. He was so distraught; he called me a dozen times each day.
PRAYER was the only answer to his problem. John realized he had to change but on his own, he couldn’t do it. It is difficult to get rid of his temper so he asked God through many heart-felt prayers to change him completely. For several months he prayed for God to reconcile him with his sweetheart. But it did not happen until John was truly changed through God’s help. Soon, John and his girlfriend realized that they couldn’t be without each other. They reconciled.
It has been two years since their wedding and they are very happy. They think of each other’s happiness always and they continue to have God a big part of their marriage, Today, they are awaiting a beautiful gift– a baby boy - from heaven that is coming in a few months.
YES, God is interested in our relationships, especially our relationship with Him. God is happy when we are happy with our personal relationships. Only through having a daily relationship with God, can one have a “happily ever after.”
Genesis 2:24… “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
