We’ve celebrated Labor Day weekend with maybe hot dogs, some shopping, and sleeping in on Monday. Labor Day is an American holiday that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.
Workers…hmm…that actually reminds me of husbands and wives because unlike fantasy romances, really strong marriages take hard work.
There’s the day to day labor of getting along. Working as a team. Conflict resolution. Taking orders from one another.
Even kissing can be work! Kissing??? Here’s what Dr. David Clarke says,
Kissing is ongoing work. It’s not like the movies where you have all the chemistry. That’s always true early in the relationship but the movies don’t take us all the way through. Culture says, “You can’t have it decade after decade. Don’t expect that. You’re going to get divorced and move on and find someone else. Well that’s not what God says. You’ve got to keep those romantic behaviors going. The make out sessions are very important during the week. It’s leading up to the main event but that may be a day or two away. All that anticipation is part of the deal. It’s wonderful.
In the same way you want to excel in your work, make a decision to excel in your marriage. That’s going to take sacrifice sometimes. You’ll put your own wants aside in order to serve your mate. That’s work.
You’ll kiss your husband even when you don’t feel like it. That’s work.
You’ll put a smile on your face even when you’ve had a blah day. That’s work.
But is all that worthwhile work? You bet! If you labor in your marriage, putting your best foot forward as much as possible, you will enjoy more than a gold watch at the end of 25 years of service. You’ll enjoy a marriage that will be the envy of the whole neighborhood.
Don’t make the mistake of working hard for things that don’t last (flat screen TV, bigger house, new car).
Put your sweat equity into something that will last forever. Your marriage.
