Here on Super Sunday I can't help but tie relationships and the game together. As a die hard STEELERS fan I'm all amped up for the game. Hopes are high, anticipation is incredible, and the feel of comradery is strong throughout the city. The game has promise. It will be great if the STEELERS win.
I've been watching the games closely leading up to this point in time. The regular season, the playoffs, and now the BIG GAME. I've considered how much work it has taken to get to this place. To get to the brink of greatness. As I watched the teams and fans celebrate the opportunity to play for the championship there is almost a misleading milue that is born out of victory.
The blood, sweat, and tears that are shed just getting to the championship game are an exercise in exhaustion all on its own. But just getting there isn't good enough. You don't play the game to go to the championship, but to win it. It is at this time that so many let their guard down.
Warnings have been reverberated to the players, "Make the most of it, you may never get back." I would echo the same sentiment for marriage. So many people let their guard down after the wedding day. For many, engagement is the playoffs, and marriage is the Super Bowl. People put incredible energy into getting engaged. Even more energy into the 12-18 hour wedding day. Only to relax, in the actual Super Bowl of life-MARRIAGE.
The hard work only begins after "I do." Most people aren't interested in this. Most folks want the pagentry of the wedding day, the gifts, and the honey moon. Few, look forward to the ongoing work of service, forgiveness, and change required to make a lasting marriage. Once the thrill is gone, the thrill is gone. Oddly enough, many folks figure that if this relationship doesn't work out the next marriage will.
Dan Marino, A Pro Football great, made it to the Super Bowl in only his second year as a quaterback in the NFL. He said that he figured he'd be back many times. In his sixteen year career, his first appearance in the Super Bowl was his only appearance. The same may be true for peoples best shot for a successful marriage. Don't let this point be lost on you because of the sports comparison. Studies show that the first marriage is the best bet for success. Divorce rate numbers nearly double with each additional marriage.
So with all that in mind, don't take marriage lightly. It's not the end of the game, but the beginning. If you are in a marriage or will be soon give it all you have. Suffer, push, pray, and bleed till a good relationship is reborn. You may never find yourself in the Super Bowl of Love again. You may never have a second chance to raise the Trohpy of all Trophies.......LASTING LOVE.
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