Can money, success, health, power, beauty or intelligence make couples happy? These can be termed as "subjective well-being" and they have little to do with couple's happiness according to Allen Parducci, UCLA researcher. The research mentions some under lying points about the ability of each partner to adjust to things beyond one's control. This defines the level of a couple's joy by a well-defined right attitude in spite of the situations they are in.
Joseph and Mary would be the best example to consider for the above research's point of view. Mary was Joseph's fiancée and she was pregnant even before they got married. He could have abandoned her or stoned her to death. Before any such thing could happen God sent an angel to tell Joseph the plan of God [1]. Joseph married her by obeying the word of God. They had to travel to Bethlehem leaving all things aside (home, money and people), Mary carrying the child in her womb.
Mary made several travels on the back of a burro. She had to wait for Joseph to find a place to give birth to the child. Joseph with no complaints searched for something like bran with straw on the floor to get warmth in the cold winter season. During this time Mary's anxiety level must have risen, as she had to wait and watch her husband return to pick her to some better place. They accepted all unpleasant developments that occurred before, during the time when the miracle occurred (Jesus Christ was born) and after the birth. The chosen couple showed their obedience in each other through God, irrespective of hardship and challenges amounted on them. They didn't throw up their hands during trials or Joseph didn't show pity on Mary by marrying her. He neither ran away leaving Mary alone. Their story is a great example for how to enjoy happy marriages while learning to adjust to undesirable circumstances. If any readers are heavy, take a lesson from the chosen couple and learn to adjust to the challenges of the marriage. It's the secret to having a happy marriage.
This book brings various such 14 situational stories (in form of independent episode) that often couples get locked in and are unable to break free from the clutches of these problems. The book is not necessarily for wives only but also for husbands, although the book presents more to wives and less to husbands and it reveals the reasons behind this as you move from one story to another.
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