Marriage Advice in a Word
At the Top 100 Women event last evening, Bob and I were asked, "If you had to put your best marital advice into one word, what would it be?"I pondered for a moment and then said, "Persevere."In our practice we often see couples in crisis who come to us as a last step before walking out the door. With a large dose of hope and some concentrated coaching, we can't tell you how many times we have seen couples pull through.A lifetime relationship requires an ongoing building of your emotional muscles. It's easy to have a relationship in the good times. The true test of a partnership is what you do when things are not so good.That's why this is one of my all-time favorite poems about marriage:
I didn't marry you because you were perfect. I didn't even marry you because I loved you. I married you because you gave me a promise. That promise made up for your faults.And the promise I gave you made up for mine. Two imperfect people got married and it was the promise that made the marriage. And when our children were growing up, it wasn't a house that protected them; and it wasn't our love that protected them - it was that promise.~ Thornton Wilder, The Skin of Our Teeth
Share your thoughts and stories about perseverance with us on our Facebook page.Here's to your relationship,Lori and Bob Hollander
Lori Hollander, LCSW-C, BCD, and Bob Hollander, LCSW-C, JD, are licensed counselors and co-founders of Relationships Work, an innovative therapy practice and online resource center that gives couples 360 degrees of support for extraordinary partnerships. Sign up for Radical Relationships, a monthly eZine from Relationships Work, and receive Why Take the Journey to Extraordinary? absolutely free.