Christian Reflection and Prayer

Bruce Larson, in The One and Only You,
illustrates the ease with which we can lose
that passion in marriage. He uses the common cold
and a married couple as his principal point-makers.

THE FIRST YEAR:
the husband says, "Sugar, I'm worried about
my baby girl. You've got a bad sniffle. I want
to put you in the hospital for a complete
checkup. I know the food is lousy, but I've
arranged for your meals to be sent up from
Rossinis. It's all arranged."

THE SECOND YEAR:
"Listen, honey, I don't like the sound of that
cough. I've called Dr. Miller and He's going to
rush right over. Now will you go to bed like
a good girl just for me, please?"

THE THIRD YEAR:
"Maybe you'd better lie down, honey
Nothing like a little rest if you're
feeling bad. I'll bring you something to
eat. Have we got any soup in the house?"

THE FOURTH YEAR:
"Look, dear. Be sensible. After you've
fed the kids and washed the dishes you'd
better hit the sack."

THE FIFTH YEAR:
"Why don't you take a couple of aspirin?"

THE SIXTH YEAR
"If you'd just gargle or something instead
of sitting around barking like a seal."

THE SEVENTH YEAR:
"For heavens sake, stop sneezing. What
are you trying to do, give me pneumonia?"

"MARRIAGES ARE NOT RUINED BY A BLOW
OUT, BUT BY A SLOW LEAK."

Reflection:

I know a pastor who does the following when he
marries a couple. First he has the bride and groom
face each other and places 3 braided ropes around
the shoulders of the couple one rope at a time.
After the first rope he says: This represents
the bonding of (woman's name) with (man's name).
After that he places the second rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of (man's name) with (woman's name).
After that he places the third rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of GOD, (the woman's name), and
the (the man's name), in the union of Holy
Marriage, God IS love.

ALL OF YOU PLEASE PUT GOD IN YOUR
MARRIAGE AND BOND TOGETHER! NO
MORE SLOW LEAKS!