Saturday, November 19, 2016

Charity in Marriage

Charity can sometimes be confused with doing acts of kindness, or just being nice but it is much more than that. It is something you develop within yourself. It is a gift from God and is very important to a successful marriage. Marriage is sometimes referred to as ‘God’s finishing school for the godly soul’ and is ‘ordained to stretch and refine us’. (Goddard)

I agree with this statement 100 percent. I have been stretched and pulled in my own marriage but I have learned so much. It reminds me of the process of pulling taffy. Have you ever seen a taffy machine or a person who is stretching taffy? I remember as a kid walking by a window and seeing this machine, it was taking taffy and stretching it. Then it would fold it in half and then stretch it and fold it again. This process went on for a while. I wondered why they needed to do this. This final step in the taffy making process is important. The taffy is pulled and stretched over and over again until it “reaches the point of exhaustion”. But why? what does it do for the candy? Pulling taffy aerates it, or incorporates many tiny air bubbles throughout the candy. This makes it lighter and chewier. (Why do you pull taffy). This process is an integral part of the process. So, it is for us in our lives. Sometimes God takes us to our limits; he pulls and stretches us in order to refine us and make us better. It may be hard to endure at times, but it is worth it. Marriage stretches our abilities but charity is something that can help us in our journey.  

Marvin Ashton has said that “perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down…charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.

Marriage requires accepting, humility, forgiveness and so much more. It is important to expect the best of each other.  We need to rely on God and Jesus Christ. It has been said that “charity is the pure love of Christ. (Moroni 7:47). I love this; Christ is our perfect example and I am grateful for that.

Ezra Benson has said that “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life.”
If we can have this pure love of Christ in our lives, we can overcome trials and can be on our way to having a successful marriage and family.

Reference

 Ashton, M.J (1992). The tongue can be a sharp sword. Ensign. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/04/the-tongue-can-be-a-sharp-sword?lang=eng


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