One of the most prevalent prayer requests and counseling
requests of singles is the ardent desire to get married.
This
is especially true for women.
Singles can get downright miserable because they aren't married.
I want to share
some insight that might just calm those so
impatiently longing for marriage.
First the statistics.
Approximately
half of marriages end in divorce.
Opinion varies but it ranges from 40% to nearly two-thirds.
In general, over half
of all couples who marry will divorce.
USA Today had a survey years ago that I can't find but I
remember the results.
USA Today surveyed couples who had been
married for 25 years or more. The survey asked one question.
"Would you
marry the same person all over again?"
The answers surprised me.
50% said "Yes" but 50% said "No."
For
those 50% who said NO who had been together 25 years or
more, it meant they weren't really happy together.
That
was a sobering realization. My contact with couples over
the years has verified USA Today's survey. Half of
the married
couples who stay together aren't really happy with each other.
The institution of marriage can be awesome.
A
university and a bank are institutions but so is a prison.
Just from the raw stats, you have about a one in five
probability
of marrying someone whom you won't regret marrying.
ONE IN FIVE!
I tell impatient singles these are the stats.
The divorce rate
among churchgoers is just as high or in some cases higher.
I believe marriage can be one of the
most wonderful things a
person experiences, but it is about like a career and in-laws,
most people never get to the
wonderful part.
I did not get married until I was 38.
My wife was 27 when we married.
People would chide
me by saying, "Aren't you married yet?"
"No," I would reply adding, "but I'm not divorced either."
I knew that marriage
was not something that I should rush.
I knew I should not be married before I was truly ready and had
the wife God intended
me to have.
I also knew it was far better to remain single than get into a
bad marriage.
My wife also knew
that and went one step beyond.
My wife had never had her heart broken.
One reason for that is that other things
were also unbroken.
She was still a virgin on our wedding night.
We often want God to send us a divine mate in the
midst of mess.
With all things in life, only a small percentage truly makes it
to the Promised Land. Marriage
is such a land and it can be
bondage or beautiful.
Take your time and remember,
it's best to go to bed alone
and
remain alone,
than to wake up to someone you don't want to be with
...for the rest of your life.
~A MountainWings Original~
