Friendship & Marriage

If you are married, have you ever thought back to your wedding vows? I thought about mine last night for the first time in a long time. Sadly, I think I have failed in some of those vows to a degree. I mean, how often do we truly cherish our spouse? But while I was thinking about them I noticed that there was no vow to be best friends. We never promised that to one another. Why wouldn't the traditional wedding vows include something like that? Here is what I think…..It's assumed.
The wedding vows assume that if you follow your promises "to have and to hold", "for better or worse", "for richer", "for poorer", "in sickness and in health", "to love and to cherish", "till death do us part", that you will just be best friends automatically………and the assumption is absolutely correct. How could you not be best friends if you lived your life with that kind of commitment to your spouse. What I want to ask you is: Can you count on your buddies to stick around if you are flat broke? Can you call on your pals to come and comfort you when you are sick, or worse yet could you depend on them to sit by your side, day in and day out as you fought against cancer? Most likely your answer is no, and rightfully so. Your friends have their own life to worry about, their own kids and their own spouse. That is what is so awesome about having a wife or a husband. In those trying times in your life, you are their priority. They are your priority.
If you are best friends with your spouse, congratulations. There is just simply no better relationship on the planet and you know exactly what I am talking about. If you are reading this and you don’t have that kind of relationship with your spouse I would ask you this: Are you loving and cherishing them like you vowed to? I mean really cherishing them?
If you desire for your spouse to be your best friend, give it an honest try…..you might be very surprised by the outcome!