Hitting the Marriage Jackpot

The last few days have been all about the most recent Power Ball jackpot which reached over $550 million.  Unfortunately, the chances of hitting the big jackpot were calculated to be 1 in 75 million.  By comparison, your chances of being hit by lightning are only 1 in 5000. Not very good odds, to say the least.  For those of you who are married, I would like to suggest a better basket to put your eggs in.

Winning a lottery is simply a matter of luck.     You can't buy marital happiness or success, just look at how many rich people get divorced.   And let's say you did win the jack pot, I am sure you have heard the stories of how you wind up having more friends and relatives than you ever realized, and how many couples who win eventually get divorced.

Good marriages take time and work, they don't just happen.  There are no shortcuts or magic formulas. Over the years various surveys have been taken which ask happily married couples of various ages what makes their marriage so good.  Regardless of the survey or the age of the participants, the number one answer is consistently the same. And it has nothing to do with money.  The number one answer as to why couples are happily married is "my spouse is my best friend."  This answer certainly means that the husband and wife are spending plenty of quality time together, and they are making the effort required to be best friends.

So my question to you is this, how much time and effort are you investing in your marriage?

Blessings,
Dr. Paul