The Marriage Book - Building Strong Foundations

My Pa is not big on self-help books or courses. This is why, about 5 years ago when he passed me the Marriage Book - How to Build a Lasting Relationship, and told me to read it, I was suitably intrigued. My Pa and Ma, who at the time of my Pa's death were married for 28 years, completed the Marriage Course that was run by our local church.

Fast forward to the present, I have finally decided to start reading the book. This seemed like the most appropriate time since I am getting married next year!

The first chapter - Taking a Long View talks generally about society's mindset about marriages. If I could pick ONE sentence from the chapter to summarise it, it would have to be on page 23 "We live in a consumerist age in which people are not used to mending things". So true! The gist of the chapter talks about how all marriages require "work" in order for us to reap the benefits.

Next, the author and authoress (since this book was written by Nicky and Sila Lee, who are husband and wife) expound the importance of making time for each other. They propose couples plan days away, mini honeymoons (without children) and holidays. Conversely, it is also important to have time apart from each other. "...pursuing interests separately can prevent a relationship from becoming one-dimensional or claustrophobic....some interest, however, will need to be curtailed or dropped if they cause distance to come between us..."

This section ends concluding that a strong friendship is the foundation of a strong marriage.

Stay tuned for the next Section!