{"id":787,"date":"2012-02-01T12:02:11","date_gmt":"2012-02-01T17:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/everydayspirituality\/?p=787"},"modified":"2012-02-01T12:02:11","modified_gmt":"2012-02-01T17:02:11","slug":"what-keeps-a-marriage-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayspirituality\/2012\/02\/what-keeps-a-marriage-together.html","title":{"rendered":"What Keeps a Marriage Together?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human lifestyles or attitudes are not what keep a relationship intact. Truth keeps relationships intact. And the truth is we have to be adaptable in this world or else we adapt to all the materialism, consumerism, isolation, heartache, and deluge of information in the world.<\/p>\n

When I first met Doug, we clicked. We both were partial to farming as a goal. Our sense of humor was similar. Our values were alike. Our work ethics related. However, over the last 28 years, we\u2019ve had to adapt. We had children. Our work places changed. The economy fluctuated. Parents needed to be cared for before dying. We bought newer vehicles that are so high tech we were doing well to open and close the windows without setting off the alarm.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Doug and me on motorcycle trip across the United States<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We are still married, not because we think alike, but because we can change our thinking and adapt to thoughts that reach out and love. It hasn’t been easy sometimes, because sometimes one person is carrying a lot of weight, but instead of defending what we have, we look forward to more.<\/p>\n

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom. 12:2, NIV)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Human lifestyles or attitudes are not what keep a relationship intact. Truth keeps relationships intact. And the truth is we have to be adaptable in this world or else we adapt to all the materialism, consumerism, isolation, heartache, and deluge of information in the world. When I first met Doug, we clicked. We both were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":429,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[352,351,109],"class_list":["post-787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-relationships","tag-marriage-help","tag-motorcycle-trip","tag-what-is-christian-science"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Keeps a Marriage Together? - Everyday Spirituality<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayspirituality\/2012\/02\/what-keeps-a-marriage-together.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Keeps a Marriage Together? - Everyday Spirituality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Human lifestyles or attitudes are not what keep a relationship intact. 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