Over two million couples are expected to tie the knot this year, and many of us will be invited to attend several of those weddings. It’s always fun to see the happy bride and groom begin their journey together with such optimism and enthusiasm.
My wife Jean and I were married on August 24, 1986, a sun-drenched day in Santa Ana, California. We’ve had a wonderful marriage, but we’ve also navigated our way through various seasons of challenge. We have faced difficulties in our extended families, relocated to new cities, and raised two boys.
One of the biggest challenges to our marriage — ironically enough — was when I became the president of Focus on the Family. I was taking on the leadership role at an organization created to help families around the world. Would we be expected to have a perfect marriage? Perfect children? We had to think through those questions and figure out how we were going to work together to keep our relationship strong.
We discovered that great marriages don’t happen by accident. Strong couples don’t coast along on autopilot. Yet, stressful moments become a daily opportunity for husbands and wives to work together as a team.
Lately, I’ve been burdened for couples whose marriages have hit the doldrums. Sailors know this term well. The doldrums are a term used to describe an area near the equator. It’s where trade winds meet other trade winds, and the winds are known to die out altogether. As a result, ships that rely on those breezes are stalled and have been known to drift aimlessly for days.
Originally Published in Washington Times. | 
