Final Thoughts on The Meaning of Marriage

Welcome to our last and final post of The April Maura Marriage Series. As we have been going through The Meaning of Marriage, we started from eye opening statistics about marriage and divorce to disclosing the great secret of marriage and ending with how to practically live that great secret out every day. Marriage we know is beautiful and hard all in one. We understand that marriage is more than just a gorgeous wedding day of exchanged vows. But that marriage is a choice every day to renew our vows to each other again and again.

The marriage relationship is the most intimate relationship we might ever get to experience on earth, which explains why it can feel so hard as well. Because we are constantly becoming one, there is a tension that fights with our inner “sinner” selves that loves to think of self more often than not. Or even on the days when our feelings waver and become different. Our actions of love can actually still empower us to feel love again. As long as we believe and know where our ultimately source of Love comes from…God our Father through Jesus Christ.

This Marriage Series was birthed out of a place to encourage couples, whether married or engaged, to believe their marriage is important, valuable, and was made for a very distinct purpose. When we looked at the gospel, we see the picture marriage between Jesus and the church. We see the church as the bride, and Jesus as our groom. This is what marriage is all about. Marriage is about the good news. The good news is we are unconditionally loved in the midst of our failures, weaknesses, and imperfections. That we are dressed in white for all the days of our life because of our marriage to Jesus and what He did for us. When we got married we didn’t just make a contract. We didn’t just say well as long as you keep your end of the deal up, I’ll love you and stay with you. No, we entered into a covenant. A God covenant.

• A good news covenant that allows repentance and forgiveness where the heart receives loves, and gives loves.

• A covenant that sheds undeserved grace when a heart needs it the most.

We get to share in these blessings of what marriage truly is. But so often, life begins to happen. Life begins to control us. We allow our daily lives of busyness and schedules to start overwhelming our decisions to make powerful choices of how we are going to live. And slowly our marriages start to become the last on the list to take care of. Marriage gets tossed to the back seat as if it can wait to be cared for. Maybe you’ve grown content in where you’re marriage is at right now, or maybe you just don’t view marriage as very valuable or important, or maybe some hard things have been done within your marriage and it feels hopeless.

As we end our time together with The Meaning of Marriage, I want to encourage all couples to receive the importance of your marriage and to actually act upon that. Once you acknowledge the importance of your marriage, maybe you can start intentionally make your marriage important through what you do. I believe there is an urgency for us to take responsibility both bride and grooms, for our marriages. This takes a lot of courage because it is not always easy when forgiveness might need to take place, or you might have to speak up and talk about your true feelings. If we do that our marriages can have a impact and influence as we continue to say “yes” to them every day.

May you nurture your marriage and put some good soil around it just like we would our jobs, kids, or even ourselves. It is worth it. The Meaning of Marriage is a great place to start. That is the kind of moist, rich soil your marriage needs, if you are both willing to listen and receive. Our family is where it all begins.

For engaged couples, you can take steps right now to set a good foundation for a healthy marriage. It isn’t too early, to understand marriage and where the ultimate source for true Love comes from and how to receive it so you may give it.

See Matthew and Annie’s original Paseo Wedding Here!

If you’re just joining us, you can catch up here:

• NEWEST ADDITION TO APRIL MAURA PHOTOGRAPHY: MARRIAGE SERIES AUTHOR
• SEARCHING FOR THE SECRET OF MARRIAGE
• UNVEILING THE GREAT SECRET OF MARRIAGE
• BEING LOVED SO YOU MAY LOVE
• POWER TO CHOOSE IN MARRIAGE
• DO YOU KEEP YOUR PROMISES?
• “I’M SORRY, I CAN’T GIVE LOVE IF I DON’T FEEL IT.”
• COMMON PURPOSE DRIVES FRIENDSHIP IN MARRIAGE
• PURPOSE IN MARRIAGE
• AS TIME GOES ON
• THE GREAT DANCE
• ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE? 
• SINGLENESS AND MARRIAGE
• LIVING YOUR “HEALTHIEST EVER AFTER”
• FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE

AUTHOR OF THE MARRIAGE SERIES: Taylor Wild

Note: We do not hold degrees in psychology, nor are we doctors, but people who have a heart to share wisdom.

MANY THANKS TO THE CREATIVE TEAM WHO HELPED WITH THE PASEO WEDDING INSPIRATIONAL:

Venue: THE PASEO

Designer/Florist: HERITAGE FLOWERS AZ

Dress store: SUZANNE’S BRIDAL

Hair and Make-up: HARLEY ANN CHAPMAN

Couple: Matthew and Annie