Author: Penny Hudson

Words: A Matter of Life and Death to a Relationship

This morning’s sermon was on “Words:  A Matter of Life and Death.”  As I listened, I thought probably one of the most valuable things I’ve learned in marriage and, in relationships in general, is simply “Think before you speak.” But know this isn’t something I’ve always practiced.  In fact, it’s only in the past few years I’ve tried to be more deliberate in doing this.  Just know it makes a huge difference.  Another lesson I’ve learned is I don’t need to react on everything my husband says.  For years this was a big divide for us.  One of us would say something and then the other would have a rebuttal or comeback. Sometimes you just need to let it go and realize you have different opinions.  It doesn’t make one right and the other wrong.  I’ve got to tell you our communication is so much better since we’ve been putting these two techniques into practice.iStock_000019736204_Large

Bride and Groom Priorities

We couldn’t believe it when our son told us his friend was getting a divorce.  He had only been married a few years.  I recall him telling us how ugirl comfortednbelievably amazing the wedding was.  No expense was spared.  “He really loved her,” our son explained.

With the average cost of weddings today nearing $35,000, I can’t but wonder where are these couple’s priorities?  A wedding is a day but a marriage is suppose to last a lifetime.  How much better would it had been if they had  put as much time and effort into preparing for a marriage instead of a wedding.  My heart breaks because I believe if couples would get pre-marital education, there would be less and less of these type of divorces.

A Little More Authentic

A woman with a counselor
I used to hate it when they would go around the room and ask us to read.  I knew I  wasn’t going to be able to pronounce some of the words. For everyone else the words just seemed to roll off their tongues.  But not me. I would attempt to pronounce the word, but normally come across as pretty dense.  So what a relief it was to know someone else struggled with this same issue. My friend recently confessed she too knew exactly how I felt.  I was not alone. I had a dense friend. No not really.  See we both learned to read by sight not phonetically as most kids learn today.  The point I’m trying to make is it helps to know we are not alone. It’s comforting to know others have felt as I felt.  This may be true for you in your marriage.  Have you ever thought you are the only one who feels the way you do sometimes about your spouse or your relationship?  If that’s the case, realize you have company. We just want you to know at MERCY you are at a safe place. We are all on a journey trying to do our best.