Lasting Love

With May being a popular month for marriages, here are some “rules” for engaged couples, newlyweds, and seasoned married folks to follow.   I am not the author.    They were written by  Larry Brown, a Cape Cod Academy teacher who writes for the Cape Cod Times.

I’ve saved many of his articles.  Here is one from April 19, 2013 entitled, “How to make love last.”

He offers ideas about how to make relationships live on and get stronger.  First, we need friendship plus desire.   Have desire without friendship and we have one wild weekend…but a long-term disaster.

Second, think of our love like a savings account.   We want to make at least seven deposits for every withdrawal…seven acts of tenderness, kindness, and heartfelt compliments. The withdrawals are the times we disappoint each other or tick each other off.   And there will be withdrawals.

Third, remember to be polite.  Why should we reserve our worst manners for the one we love.  Remember “please and thank you.”  That’s how we keep the friendship part of the formula…and being a respectful friend makes us more desirable to each other.

And fourth, promise to create an environment in which love can flourish.  To create that environment, we need to make promises to one another and keep them.

And by the way, our vows we say in Church before God and all those witnesses are hugely important promises such as: “I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.  I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

That is quite a promise, and we need God’s help to keep that promise because marriage is hard.  Pray together and keep flowing those deposits of pleasures, kindness, and courtesies.  That leads to real happiness

Deacon David Pierce