W04 covenant vs contract and the three wolves

        This week I've been reading through some truly excellent talks about marriage. One of them was by Bruce C. Hafen. He talked about "wolves" that will come for us in our lives and marriages and how they can destroy us if we are not prepared for them. The three wolves he talked about were natural adversity, our own imperfections, and excessive individualism. That really caught my attention and I thought more about excessive individualism because I think that's pretty much our culture in America these days. Everyone is all about themselves. Self care, me time, doing what makes me happy even if it might hurt someone else. The reason I think this is so important is that often times, things that are part of our culture are so automatic that our ability to recognize them becomes weakened or non existent. There is very little individualism in marriage. I've found that when I am being selfish, it impacts my relationship with my husband pretty quickly. I am easier to anger and less willing to serve. Not a good combination!

I want to remember that I am part of a covenant marriage at all times. I know that as my husband and I each draw closer to the Savior, we will also draw closer to each other. We've had some difficult years that I wasn't sure we were going to survive, but we have held on and our marriage is the better for it.