Marriage - An Emotional Investment

What would you say is the most important thing in a marriage : love or respect? Love is a given, without love — what’s the point of marriage? But without respect, love is most certainly not going to last. Marriage is not only a union or contract between two people, it’s an emotional investment for each of you. You are giving your partner your unconditional love, time, energy, and commitment…forever. If that’s not a long-term investment, I don’t know what is.

But with all investments, you want to make sure that your investment will pay off in the long run. What are the benefits of an emotional investment? Respect, loyalty, and support.

What is marriage? Marriage means something different to anyone. It’s like word association. The word marriage can make someone think of the following things: love, commitment, togetherness, unity, purity. Now think of your marriage as a house. Love is the foundation on which your house will be built on. Without respect, loyalty, and support — your foundation will crack. You need to make sure that your ‘house’ will be built on a solid foundation before you begin ‘construction.’

What to expect:

If you’re a traditional couple who has not lived with one another prior to marriage, you may be in for quite a surprise! You will learn new things about your spouse every day. Like what, you ask? Well their overall living habits in particular, may shock you. Settling in is one of the most interesting phases. Here you are, two grown adults that have been doing things your ‘own way’ for quite some time. Will you accommodate one another? It’s always the silly things that frustrate us in the beginning.

Examples:

Your spouse may not like where you hang your coat or how you leave the toaster plugged in. You may not like the way he/she eats all the cereal but puts the box back on the shelf without saying anything. These are those little petty things that can drive us wild sometimes. Ah, the first phase of marriage.

It’s always best to express the way you feel calmly — these are the little newly wed things that will be laughed at in years to come. It’s all in the way that you tackle each problem (however small it is) together.

The Long Road:

Your emotional investment will pay off every day if you respect and love one another. Never go to bed angry with one another! Always forgive the forgivable — but never forget, as that’s how we learn from our past mistakes. Your marriage is the start of a new family: Your family. If your ‘foundation’ (love) is solid, your ‘house’ (marriage) will be strong and full of happiness.

Jen Carter is owner of My Wedding Blog, a website devoted to weddings. You may publish our articles on your website only if you do not edit the article in any way, and include all html as direct links to our site. Visit us at www.my-wedding-blog.com