Marriage…is what bring us together today.  I am in my office getting ready to perform a marriage ceremony in about 30 minutes.  Whenever I perform a marriage ceremony for a couple, I spend time meeting with them in preparation.  We normally get together 3-5 times.  In this “sessions” we talk about all kinds of things ranging from expectations to money to sex.  But as I reflect on my discussions with about to be married people and the already marriage people (some for a long time), I think the following three things really help to make and sustain a great marriage.

1. celebrate the fact that you do not have to go through life alone.  loneliness is a big deal and crushes lots of people.  treat your marriage and your mate with a sense of gratefulness because it means you do not have to take on this beast called life by yourself.  this is a huge thing.  do not take it for granted
2. major on each other’s strengths and minor on each other’s weaknesses.  this is what did when you were dating.  keep doing it.  we have a tendency to flip this once we have been in a relationship awhile.  we begin to lock in on our partner’s weaknesses and overlook his or her strengths.  this cripples our ability to be excited about our marriage
3. treat your wife like she is a queen and treat your husband like he is a king.  girls need loved and cherished and guys need respected and honored.  there are shades of this depending on the guy and girl.  but overall, this is the reality.  do not gripe about it, just figure out how to do it. 

I bet if I put all this into practice (and you did as well), my marriage and your marriage and our world would be the better for it.