Lifetime Marriage by Dr. James C. Dobson

by Tamara Howell
(Avon, Ohio, USA)

"Marry the one you think you cannot live without, rather than the one you think you can live with."

Dr. James C. Dobson

When I heard this in 1995, I sat crying in my car for a long time as I realized that I had made exactly this mistake. After several years of futile trying to change myself and my spouse, I divorced in 2000, determining that I would never marry again unless I could honestly say that I could not imagine my life without the person I desired to marry.

When I began dating my husband 18 months ago, I knew that he was the only man who would ever have my heart. I could not imagine living my life without him.

We have experienced many drastic changes in our lives in the fourteen months that we have been together - job changes, moves, changes in financial circumstances, family pressures.

I have learned that I can imagine my life without any of the material things or without the social environments to which I become accustomed. In fact, I can imagine my life without everything and everyone except my husband and my daughter and my Christian faith.