PART I - THE BASICS

What is Marriage?

(Write your own answer before continuing)

The Oxford American Dictionary definition of marriage is:

“The state in which a man and woman are formally united for the purpose of living together (usually in order to procreate children) and with certain legal rights and obligations toward each other.” 

Kind of cold, don’t you think? Here is what we think the definition of marriage should be:

Marriage is the formal union, under God and country, of a man and a woman, who love each other, are committed to each other, seek a family together, and are united for life, no matter what life brings their way.

Neither definition includes phrases like: “as long as there are no problems” or “as long as both are happy.”  Marriage is a journey with bumps in the road.