TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Column: Family is well worth the effort

ADVERTISEMENT

By DEREK MAUL | The Brandon News

Published: June 1, 2009

Recently, over an eight-day stretch, I attended three weddings. Two were large and one was an intimate family affair.

Matrimony is big news at the moment, not just politically but also in the world of entertainment. Both failure and farce seem destined to maake front page news far ahead of achievement. But in my book, successful marriage is a great work of art and needs to be given the press it deserves.

I believe we should pay attention to good marriages. The best protest against what disturbs us is the vigorous practice of a standard that works.

This summer my wife and I celebrate 30 years of committed marriage. We're stronger than ever, but we didn't get here by pointing out what was wrong with other people. We got this far because we're willing to struggle together, and be honest with each other, and be humble about how flawed we are and — most critically — serve each other because that is what love does.

Family is foundational to society, not the economy. If we showed as much concern for strong families as we do for the "value" of a dollar, the breakdown of character that led to the recent economic meltdown may well have been avoided.

So, today I'm praying extra hard for all the people I know who are at odds with each other in their marriages. Too many of us live as if the initial rush of passion and a few well-parsed wedding vows should be enough to carry us through the next 30 years or so, with little effort required. But that's lunacy!

The high failure rate of marriage speaks volumes about our misplaced priorities. We'll dedicate an entire weekend to yard work, then leave the most important part of our lives untended. Or, we'll schedule our vehicles for various checkups, but look back at a marriage after 12 years of neglect and say, "What happened? I can't understand how we drifted apart."

We focus our energy everywhere else. I'm all for a unified transportation plan. There are problems our school board can't afford to ignore. And our governor needs to focus on jobs in Florida, not a new job in Washington. But it all pales in comparison with the devastation wrought when family fails.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT