Their faces were filled with anguish as they approached us after one of our sessions at a marriage seminar. They wanted to smile, but years of unhappiness and regret had taken its toll on them. We thought we knew what their question was going to be, but we couldn’t have been more surprised by what the husband said first.
“Can you fix this marriage in 30 second or less?â€
Wow. We would like to fancy ourselves as talented and productive relationship consultants, but this guy was asking for a miracle; and he was serious. Thirty seconds or less? Are you kidding? But then it hit us, like Mike Tyson hitting Michael Spinks, but it took less than 92 seconds for us to come up with his answer. “You want to fix your marriage in 30 seconds or less? Then start with changing yourself and decide to be a loving, supportive, active, and growing husband.â€
Not surprisingly, he didn’t take to our answer. This guy is like a lot of people in our country. America is no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave, but more accurately the land of the irresponsible and home of the no fault lawsuit; the demise of our relationships is are the proof.
If you are wanting a book that will give you excuses, then you can stop reading now. If you are wanting a book that will coddle you and make you feel better about yourself, then stop reading now. It’s about time we all start growing up. Being an adult does not mean things become easier, in fact, it really means things become more difficult because, as adults, we are responsible for all of our own actions and feelings. We can no longer be victims, like we were as children, but instead we must start assuming the power of one which is the simple solution to a happy marriage.
One of our favorite first lines when working with a client in a clinical setting is, “What brings you in today.†We’re not the first people to ask this question, but it does have special meaning for us. “What brings you in today†is at the heart of many people’s issues. How people typically respond to this question will tell us a lot of how successful they will be in getting helped. If they start listing a long line of issues about their spouse as the reason they are coming to one of our Marriage Restoration Intensives, then we know we are in a battle. The problem with your marriage, however, is not your long list of issues or complaints about your spouse. Honestly, it is the level at which each of you is willing to take responsibility for the problems in the marriage. Issues are just issues. Couples are stressed out in their marriage because neither is willing to do the right thing (unless the other is willing to do it first).
What brings you to reading this book today? Are you frustrated in love? Does your spouse not meet your needs like you want? Do you feel alone, rejected, or disconnected? Has life turned out to be one huge disappointing experience after another? What brings you to reading this book today?
Be careful with your answer. It’s an important question. If you answer, “My spouse… my child… my boss…†Then you’re not ready for the following pages. In fact, they might even upset the very core of your being.
This book is not about what your spouse must do so you can enjoy a satisfied and happy marriage. This book is about learning what YOU can do to help create an environment where a satisfied and happy marriage is possible.
We are not slaves to our past. We have a choice. We do not become angry because someone says something mean. We do not get sad because someone says something hurtful. Every emotion we display is our choice. Let us say this another way, we decide whether or not we are going to be upset, sad, frustrated, mad, or hurt.
We are in control of our own destinies and emotion. People, places, or things do not make us unhappy in life. We choose to feel unhappy as a result of what happens around us. We will address this concept in much more depth later on in chapter seven. But it is important to note here, at the beginning of this book. You can choose how you respond to circumstances.
We know you can not control what happens to you by other people. If you catch your spouse in an affair, your initial reaction will be your gut reaction. Your gut reaction is what’s natural to you. We are not talking about controlling what initially happens to you when faced with hardships or heartache. We are talking about controlling how you move forward and how you respond to tough circumstances. If someone says something mean to me (Amy), it is natural for me to feel hurt – initially. But if I go home and then take out my frustration or hurt on my kids or husband, then that is my fault. If I loose sleep that night because I’m still ruminating over what happened to me earlier in the day, then that is my fault.
The old saying that it takes two to save a marriage could not be more wrong. We’ve seen marriages experience the warmth and grace God intended because one spouse decided to make a change, which always results in the marriage, or any relationship for that matter, experiencing real change – and usually in a positive manner.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the story from a Turkish village that was devastated by an earthquake. Earlier in the morning before the quake hit the village, a young father had dropped his son off at school. It was just like any other day, and like all the days before, the father told his tiny son, “I’ll be back to pick you up after school.†The little boy always made him promise. “Promise?†the boy said to his reassuring father. “Yes, son, I promise.â€
The village had experienced much violence from the various clans fighting in the area and children were often afraid they would not see their parents after school, it had happened many times before. The earth quake hit some time in the middle of the school day, and it was ferocious. The earth moved with such force that every building in the village was completely destroyed, including the elementary where the father had dropped his son off that morning.
The entire village headed for what remained of the collapsed school. When people started arriving they were met with horror. The school, once a haven for protecting the children, was no longer.
But the worst part was not the sight of the fallen school or the total devastation from the earthquake, no, the worst part was that there were no screams to be heard from the rubble. No moans or cries from children trapped in the wreckage, only the terrifying silence after the storm.
Immediately rescue workers and parents began to remove the stones and splintered wood beams to try and find any survivors; including the young father who had promised his son he would return to pick him up.
Hour after hour the hopes of a village sank as one dead child after another was pulled from the pile of debris. Soon parents and rescue workers began to lose hope that any survivors would be found. After a full 24 hours of continuous digging, many families and friends began to disappear along with their hopes of finding their precious children. All the families but one. The little boy’s father was still digging.
After 48 hours many of the rescue workers were leaving the site and they begged the young father stop hoping and accept the fact that his son was dead. But the father would not hear any of them. He had made a promise to his son, and no one could pull him from the rubble. All he had for sustenance the last 48 hours was what little water people had offered him. His fingers, hands, elbows, and knees were bleeding and cut to the bone from the continual lifting and moving of the heavy stones.
It had now been almost three days since the tragic earthquake destroyed the elementary school. No one was left digging except that young father. People in the village had accepted the fact that this young father was going to die on that pile of rubble along with the children. But the father was determined. Several rescue workers watched as the father continued to dig, tears streaming down his face, desperate to find his son who he had promised to see again.
When out of the dust and chaos the young father heard a slight, but proud voice come from beneath the rubble, “Daddy? Is that you daddy?†The little boy heard the digging from above him, where he and 19 of his classroom friends had survived the quake because of a God-inspired pocket of space and clean air.
“Yes! Son, it is me your father!†The young man could hardly believe his ears. But his energy quickly renewed and he kept digging toward the voice of his little boy who was telling his classmates, “See. I told you my daddy would come for us. He promised me he would.â€
That is the power of one (or personal responsibility) and the simple solution to a happy marriage. You can not hope that your spouse does the work that you need to do. If you want your relationship to be better, then be better yourself. The power of one is about understanding that you have tremendous influence over relationship when you focus of your energy on being the kind of person you want your spouse to be.
The following pages will reveal to you how to take personal responsibility in your most important relationship on earth, your marriage. They will guide you to a better understanding of yourself and what is behind people who take the power of one. Jesus once said, “do unto other as you would have done unto you.†This little book is that message. Do for your spouse what you want done to you.
“The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate.†Reference?
These are Paul’s words as written in Romans chapter seven, and these are the words of the suffering. Not the impoverished who suffer, but rather the people like you and us who suffer every day – every week – trying to get our relationship to a place where it brings us happiness. We want to do the right thing, but yet we still manage to make a mess of things. We struggle, we fall, we humiliate ourselves all in the pursuit of a happy marriage. What makes this book a simple solution to a happy marriage is that it taps in to one of the biggest themes of the Bible. Personal responsibility. God does not do the work for us when it comes to salvation. Salvation is ours because we choose to believe that Jesus is who He said He is. The bible does not promote victims, the bible promotes strength, courage, perseverance, righteousness, patience, kindness, mercy, grace, selflessness, hope, and much, much more. What is the theme that binds all of this together? Personal responsibility. None of the things God asks of us is possible without us taking action and doing it ourselves. The same is true for marriage. A great marriage is not because you are compatible or married the one and only person on earth that was right for you. Great marriages happen because two individuals do the work to make the marriage great.
All we are asking of you through this book is to take a look at what you can do to make a difference in your marriage. We wish we could develop some magical pill to make your marriage the absolute best, but alas, that kind of pill is not possible. What we can do is show you how to behave better and to take the power of your own change to make a positive impact on the marriage. Does this book guarantee a happy marriage? No. There are no guarantees and anyone who tries to sell you that line is a liar. But we can assure you that if you take the time to get as healthy as possible, you will change. When you change your spouse will take notice.
As we once wrote in the DNA of Relationships, God created all of us for relationships. That is the good news! We crave, at the very fiber of our being, to be in relationship with others. Personal responsibility is so important because when we start behaving well toward others (especially our spouse), how do you think they will respond? Will they get mad because you are treating them so well? Probably not. More than likely your spouse or others will respond in kind. They will treat you well because they are being treated well. It’s the results of the Golden Rule! The old saying, “What goes around comes aroundâ€, is not just a statement for bad things. This statement works for those who choose to do good things. Loving your spouse to the best of your ability can only end up well. Even if it takes time, hang in there and keep learning how to do the right thing. This book is about doing the right thing. The more you know how to behave and handle yourself in different situations, the better your relationships will be. In fact, one of the cool things we are doing throughout this book is giving your “Simple Solution Scenariosâ€. These scenarios are every day examples of how to apply the lessons being learned throughout this book. Hopefully you will be able to relate to them on a deep and real level. We will write out a typical scenario in marriage where things could go horrible wrong (i.e. like finding out about an affair) and then we will walk you through how to apply the pages of this book to the specific situation.
You will also find a study guide at the back of the book as well. This study guide is an incredibly important piece of this book and the health and happiness of your marriage. The study guide is meant for a small group. You will learn later on in the book how important a small group is to your marriage, but if you are already involved in a small group then please encourage your group to go through this book together. The study guide will give you helpful discussion questions and it will highlight the most important concepts we want you to get from each chapter.
You are now ready to begin a Simple Solution to a Happy Marriage. If you feel resistence resistant to reading the this book, then just know there are forces which do not want you to be successful in your marriage. Resist! Keep moving forward and keep learning everything you can to make yourself a better lover, wife, husband, father, or mother. In fact, let’s start with a simple prayer to make sure you begin this book with the right mindset and the proper protection:
Dear heavenly Father, forgive me of my sins against You and my marriage (feel free to pray any specific sins that God brings to your mind at this moment). Father, I ask for protection as I read this book. If there is anything that wants to distract from the truth, then I ask that you keep it away. Father, help me keep an open heart and an open mind to Your will. I want your will done in my life and my marriage. Amen.â€
Friends, suffer no more! Experience the life changing freedom of a simple solution to a happy marriage.











