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Husband and Wife
【Spousal
Encouragement】In 1849, when Nathaniel Hawthorne was dismissed from
his government job in the customs house, he went home in despair. His wife
listened to his tale of woe, set pen and ink on the table, lit the fire, put
her arms around his shoulders and said, “Now you will be able to write your
novel.”
【Spousal Encouragement】Katherine, the
wife of Martin Luther, dramatically revived the depressed Reformer’s confidence
in God’s providence. This has been versified by F.W. Herzberger:
One
day when skies loomed the blackest,
This
greatest and bravest of men
Lost
heart and in an oversad spirit
Refused
to take courage again,
Neither
eating or drinking nor speaking
To
anxious wife, children or friends,
Till
Katherine dons widow garments
And
deepest of mourning pretends.
Surprised,
Luther asked why she sorrowed.
“Dear
Doctor,” his Katie replied,
“I
have cause for the saddest of weeping,
For
God in His heaven has died!”
Her
gentle rebuke did not fail him,
He
laughingly kissed his wise spouse,
Took
courage, and banished his sorrow,
And
joy again reigned in the house.
【Duty of Husbands】The Most Important Thing
Men's Life magazine
surprised itself with a survey -- asked its readers "What's the most
important thing in your life?"
And no, it was not sex, it was not career, it was neither fame nor
fortune.
The most important things to 63 percent of the men were their wives and
ninety percent of married men called their wives their best friend.
--Associated Press,
【Bitterness】The elderly couple had been married for 50 years - 50 full years of
misery. They had fought every day
of their marriage. It was the
typical standoff: she said she
would change when he did, and he said he would change when she did.
The couple's children threw a 50th
wedding anniversary party for them.
After the celebration had ended and the guests were gone, the wife
turned to her husband and said, "We've lived together for 50 years, but
its been miserable. We've fought
every day."
She paused. "Now I think it's time to
change. In fact, I've been praying
that things would change. I've been
praying that the Lord would take one of us home. And when he answers my prayer...I'm
going to go live with my sister in
【Divorce】Dissolving a marriage is not like
dissolving a business partnership, or even like deserting from the army.
Indeed, many psychologists have stated that it is second in emotional impact
only to the death of a spouse.
【Divorce】On a television show, “Divorce Wars,” a
thriving divorce lawyer found himself on the brink of divorce, even though he strongly
believed in family life. As he began to ponder why his marriage was falling
apart, he asked a friend the following question: “Max, how did you stay married
for thirty five years?”
Max,
being older, had a rather illuminating answer: “I guess in our generation we
didn’t expect as much from each other—and we ended up getting more.
【Divorce】”I will never marry again”—said by Barbara
Hutton (who was at the time heiress to the forty-five-million-dollar Woolworth
fortune), after divorcing her second husband, Count Kurt Heinrich
Haughwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow, in 1941.
“I
will never marry again. You can’t go on being a fool forever”—said by Barbara
Hutton, after divorcing her third husband, Cary Grant, in 1945.
“This
is positively my final marriage”—said by Barbra Hutton, after marrying her
sixth husband, Baron Gottfried von Kramm, in 1955.
“He’s
a composite of all my previous husbands’ best qualities without any of the bad
qualities… I have never been so happy in my life”—said by Barbra Hutton, after
marrying her seventh husband, Prince Doan Vinh de Champacak of
In
November, 1966 Barbra Hutton and Prince Doan Vinh de Champacak of
【Divorce】 Sylvester Stallone, filmdom’s “Rocky,”
was quoted by Sports Illustrated as saying, “Boxing is a great exercise—as long
as you can yell ‘cut’ whenever you want to.”
Many
people go into marriage the same way. They figure it’s great mental, emotional,
or even physical exercise as long as you can cut out whenever you want to!
【Effect
of Divorce】The results of a 1978 survey reveal that the main causes of loneliness
usually have their origins in childhood. Children who were less than six years
of age when parents were divorced were by far the loneliest as adults.
【Effect
of Divorce】The conclusion of a five-year study by Mavis Hetherington of the
University of Virginia on who is most hurt in a divorce is that ‘small boys are
the worst victims of divorce and their painful attempts to adjust often lead
them into a mutually destructive conflict with their mothers.”
【Responsibility
for Divorce】”As a pastor in three different churches, encompassing twenty-eight
years, I’m beginning to wonder if there is such a thing as an innocent
party.”—Dr. Stephen Olford.
【Foolishness】Ivana and Donald Trump have signed yet another legal document allowing
both to date other people without influencing any subsequent divorce
proceedings. --Associated Press,