Marriage: What story do you want to tell?

Last week I discovered this wonderful question:

What story do you want to tell about {fill in the blank} in the future?

Then, yesterday at church the pastor said this:

Everything becomes ordinary.

I was struck by the relationship between the two in regards to marriage.

In the beginning, your heart flutters at the thought of spending time with that man who leaves you breathless and on fire.

As time passes, though, the flame may sputter under cold and bracing splashes of reality.

And you are left with ordinary.

Where you and other women gather to play “Top this!” as you share private tidbits about what a lout your husband is.

Where you wonder what it was you ever saw in your spouse.

Where you come to the conclusion that everyone is right: there’s no such thing as being happily married.

The good news is that your marriage story doesn’t have to follow this old and worn script.

You can read about it in Fawn Weaver’s new book, Happy Wives Club.

She went on a mission through twelve countries and six continents to discover the secrets of a great marriage.

And she found them, sharing wonderful stories along the way from truly happy wives and husbands.

These stories revolve around the ordinary, about being respectful, trustworthy, and honest, and being generous with grace, gratitude, and forgiveness.

They also have the bigger picture in mind: What story did these couples want to tell next year, in five years, at their 50th anniversary?

I suspect that deep down these couples believed in the possibility of the extraordinary as they were faithful in the small things.

What does this mean to you?

If you want an extraordinary marriage, you must find joy when you are in the midst of the ordinary.

Especially important is focusing on the good.

If you are busy stoking the fires of your relationship, you don’t have time to stack up grievances against your husband.

It also means you need to let go of core beliefs you hold—scripts that run the show from behind the scenes—of which you might be unaware.

Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor are happy wives created on an assembly line, pre-molded  like a Barbie doll, plastic smiles permanently plastered on their faces.

Happy wives come in all shapes, sizes and colors, but they have one thing in common: they believe to their core in great marriage and are willing to work alongside their husbands to build a strong foundation over time that helps them weather the inevitable storms.

I invite you to join the over half a million women who are saying yes to being a happy wife!

You can get more information on Fawn’s book here.

Are you a writer and want to join the blog tour?  Just visit here.

Question: Do you believe it’s possible to be a happy wife? Please share in the comments.

Original image: Ian MacKenzie