Charity

Upon completing my readings in Goddard’s book, Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage has left me reflecting on the overall theme.  I have come to understand that marriage is a divine institution of God and when we use His principles such as charity in our marriages, we can create lasting happy marriages.  What is charity and how can it help us in our lives? The prophet Mormon taught: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (Moroni 7:47).  When we seek to become more charitable in our marriages we can find ourselves forgiving more, seeking to over look the negative or annoying habits. There will always be things that may annoy us in our marriages but as we learn to obtain charity by following Christ example we can change. We can change the way we see our spouse and the way we feel about them. 

In the last chapter, I was able to reread a story that has been etched in my mind for a very long time.  It was a story from the Ensign that Brother Goddard shared regarding a wife learning how to change the way she saw her husband so she could find the love that was once there.  I remember reading this story many years ago, yearning to do the same.  I had let the annoyances and criticism affect the way I felt about my husband. My negative thoughts had damaged my relationship.  I decided that I needed to change.  I followed this sister’s counsel and worked really hard.  Little by little I was able to change the way I felt and thought about my husband. I am so grateful for this sister’s story because I have now reaped the rewards of becoming more charitable in my marriage, over looking some of his annoyances and seeing a really amazing man who is my best friend.  Looking for the good in him has become easy, as I have developed more charity in my thoughts and actions, which has allowed me to use Christ influence to love unconditionally.