“Destructive to marriage is the self-fulfillment ethic that assumes marriage and the family are primarily institutions of personal fulfillment, necessary for us to become whole and happy. The assumption is that there is someone just right for us to marry and that if we look closely enough we will find the right person. This moral assumption overlooks a crucial aspect to marriage. It fails to appreciate the fact that we always marry the wrong person.
We never know whom we marry; we just think we do. Or even if we first marry the right person, just give it a while and he or she will change. For marriage, being means we are not the same person after we have entered it. The primary challenge of marriage is learning how to love and care for the stranger to whom you find yourself married.” -Duke University ethics professor Stanley Hauerwas
The quote above is intriguing. I’m not sure I agree with all of the logic but I do believe that it’s more important to focus on being the right person than finding the right person (to marry that is). Sometimes during our 31 years of marriage I’m sure Brent has wondered who the heck he ended up with. Right or wrong, I can probably be a handful.
I do particularly like the last line of the quote: “The primary challenge of marriage is learning how to love and care for the stranger to whom you find yourself married.” And, so after celebrating 31 years, I would say amen to that!
We never know whom we marry; we just think we do. Or even if we first marry the right person, just give it a while and he or she will change. For marriage, being means we are not the same person after we have entered it. The primary challenge of marriage is learning how to love and care for the stranger to whom you find yourself married.” -Duke University ethics professor Stanley Hauerwas
The quote above is intriguing. I’m not sure I agree with all of the logic but I do believe that it’s more important to focus on being the right person than finding the right person (to marry that is). Sometimes during our 31 years of marriage I’m sure Brent has wondered who the heck he ended up with. Right or wrong, I can probably be a handful.
I do particularly like the last line of the quote: “The primary challenge of marriage is learning how to love and care for the stranger to whom you find yourself married.” And, so after celebrating 31 years, I would say amen to that!
