Maintenance Required!

     All marriages are happy!  It’s the living together afterward that causes all the trouble!!  There is a scientific law called the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  This law states that any closed system left to itself, tends toward breakdown and decay.  It takes a demanding input of energy to keep anything together.  This can be readily seen with a house.  Any homeowner knows that to maintain a house one must daily, monthly, and yearly invest time and energy to keep the house enjoyable to live in.  If no energy is spent on the house it eventually comes to the point of needing a complete overhaul or else it will be knocked down. 
     Although it is a law designed to describe material systems, the Second Law of Thermodynamics seems to describe other systems too.  For example, let’s consider the marital relationship.  It demands daily, weekly, monthly, yearly investment of time, maintenance, and focus for it to be a strong relationship.  If no maintenance is exuded eventually the marriage needs a total overhaul or else it will be demolished. 
     It is a wise couple who will maintain their marriage by investing into it.  Rather than waiting for a complete overhaul in a counselor’s office or a total knockdown in a courtroom they daily invest into each other’s life.  Just a side note: this law proves that the theory of evolution is bogus, because nothing just automatically improves over time, on its own.  People, places, things require maintenance or they deteriorate. 
     With the rising divorce rate there is evidence that the marriage bond is being greatly neglected on both sides.  The husband is not putting the time into his wife that he did before they got married and the wife is not as energetic toward her husband as she was when they were dating.  Many people have forgotten the work they put into dating, the sacrifice of time, money, friends, and family that was expressed to please and impress each other. 
     Listen, a marriage cannot relax the dating momentum.  It must continue just on a more mature and lasting level.  Maintenance is required.  A positive attitude and a sweet spirit must be prevalent.  I will be the first to say that marriage is work, a very productive work.  I like how one person put it: marriage is like a violin; it doesn’t work without the strings and when the music stops the strings are still attached. Even if your marriage was made in heaven it is still your responsibility to maintain it, invest into it, and love it. 
     I married LaDonna on Saturday July 31, 1971, which is 45 years ago and together we weathered every storm.  With the passing years I have learned to love her more than when we were young and innocent.  The trials and tests we have experienced together have drawn us closer and made us stronger. We enjoy being together at home, helping one another, our children, our grandchildren, going out, and worshipping God together.  To get to this point, a lot of maintenance was required, but it has been worth it all.  For more info you can visit us at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com.

---