In the scriptures there are many attributes that are used to describe Christ and his character. One of the attributes I wanted to focus on that is essential in any marriage is Charity. In Moroni 7:47 it states, “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, shall be well with him.” Other scripture verses describe charity to be the highest, strongest and most joyful love there is. Marvin J. Ashton defined charity as, “accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, shortcomings; [and] having patience with someone who let us down.” Charity should not be optional but something we constantly strive to obtain, especially with our spouses. I doubt that anyone wouldn’t want more acceptance, patience and love in their life.
When I think of charity, the word giving comes to mind. However, it more than simply giving but giving of oneself to bless others. My husband works a lot and is also doing full time school. He has every excuse to come home tired and exhausted. However, there has never been a day that he has not come home happy to see me no matter what happened at work or how long his day was. My husband constantly tries to serve me whether it is making dinner, taking me on a surprise date or anything else to make my day easier, which is a blessing to me. In no way am I a perfect example of charity but I hope to become more charitable. One way I try to be more charitable in my marriage is through baking. I love baking and try to make my husbands favorite desserts often, so they are waiting for him when he gets home from work. It is those little acts of service that make a happier marriage.
It can be overwhelming thinking about all the qualities we lack to be the best partner in our marriage. No union is perfect and that is completely alright. I love what Goddard said from his book called Drawing Heaven into your marriage, “It is my view that most of us have misunderstood the purpose of marriage. It is not a picnic with friends. It is like a college education with occasional joys, lots of growth and abundant homework.” We will constantly be learning and growing in marriage. My hope is that we notice the joy and growth in our journey. May we also try to continually develop a charitable attitude and attribute it into our marriages.
I love this picture because my husband is doing a simple act of helping carry my wedding dress so that I could walk easier. There were a lot of layers of dress but I appreciate him always noticing little was to help me.
No comments:
Post a Comment