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04/05/2013
Dennis Rainey once asked Elisabeth Elliot, who for decades has been one of the most respected women in Christian culture, a very specific question: "If you had a group of wives who had all been married between 10 and 15 years -- that difficult stretch when the honeymoon is long gone, when responsibilities are high, when the children are often plentiful and chaotic -- what would be the best piece of marriage advice you could give them?"
"Respect your husband, and don't argue. A wife at that stage of marriage realizes this is not exactly the man she envisioned before the wedding ceremony. This person whom she thought was a prize package has turned out to be a surprise package. But the more you can offset the differences in your personalities and the way you respond to each other, the more you can learn to enjoy this man."
My husband once made the statement: "If a woman conceded the fact that her husband was perhaps up to 80 percent of her expectations, she ought to consider herself very lucky." Still, what's she going to do with the other 20 percent?
You can pick away at that 20 percent for the rest of your life, but you're not going to reduce it by very much. One of the secrets of a good marriage is learning to accept with gladness the 80 percent you've got.
Joan
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