Have you ever known a couple that was married for a long time and appeared to have a great marriage and then you find out they’re getting a divorce? What a HUGE disappointment. They appeared to have it all together. This causes us and many, many others to wonder, “If their marriage can’t make it, what hope do we have?” … “How can we finish well in our marriage, if they can’t?” Someone once said, “The problem with getting great things from God is being able to hold on for the last half hour.” Obviously, this couple (and many others) couldn’t. What is it about finishing well in our marriages that are so difficult? We’re often able to “run the race” well in the beginning and sometimes even for many, many years. But sadly, too many marriage “partners” stop persevering when times get tough, or they fall into temptation and veer off in another direction. They then rationalize that, “God wouldn’t want me to be unhappy” so they feel justified to take another road. But is that truly God’s way or is it more a case of their reasoning that “Surely, God would want” them to go in this different direction? We’d best be especially careful when we personalize what God would or wouldn’t want as it pertains to our marriages! There are eternal consequences involved. Finish Well in Your Marriage We encourage you to be intentional in working to “FINISH WELL” in living out your vow to be faithful to the end of your physical days here on earth. Make it your lifelong goal. Don’t allow that, which looks better than what you have, to pull you away from doing what is right. Conduct yourself in such a way that not only do YOU live true to your promises, but you live as an example to those around you of how a person of integrity conducts their life. Oh, how this world needs people who are willing to live exemplary lives that will inspire others! We need marriage heroes. “Who are the heroes of today? There are heroes in our midst, carefully disguised as ordinary people. All around us are husbands and wives, from every walk of life—who have made a commitment and have decided to stick with it. They may win no medals for staying married in an age of divorce, but that doesn’t matter. “The sooner we realize we’re called to be examples in our marriages, the sooner we will begin working harder at following God’s script and seeing our marriages grow in new ways.” (H. Norman Wright) It’s important to note that you aren’t responsible for your spouse’s actions, but you are responsible for yours. And perhaps your actions will eventually inspire them in positive ways. Who knows but God? Please make this a matter of prayer. And it is. We realize that it’s easy to let down our guard and get caught up in treating each other in ways we shouldn’t. We keep forgetting to “be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving each other and to give each other the grace God gives us—that which we are called to do. We need to ask God to remind and empower us to be kinder to each other and less snarky. We want to finish well and enjoy the trip more along the way. And as others see this, we want to inspire others to do the same! May you finish well in your life and in your marriage. And may the Lord someday say to us, as it pertains to how we conducted ourselves in our marriages, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” DISCLAIMER – While it remains important for us to remain intentional and work to remain married, this should never be the case when you experience both emotional and physical abuse as you could easily get yourself killed in the name of marriage. Both partners must respect and honour each other for a marriage to be worth saving. Always remember, if it’s painful, its not love!