Attitude is Everything

I do quite a bit of marriage counseling. Since Don and I have been equally-yoked for 30 years now I guess folks can see the 'married' brand on my forehead. Don says it's the broken look on his face. I told him I thought that expression was rapture...
It's thrilling to guide couples as they muddle through pain and disillusionment to obtain healing in their marriages. My goal is to encourage them to defer to the Lord for strength and wisdom, knowing that He will lead and guide them.
Many people only have the strength of their commitment to their marriage vows to keep them moving ahead. Others don't; they drop off early, stating that it's too late, they've been too wounded, the trust is gone.
It's important to note that it's not just unbelieving couples who don't hang on; often I see professing Christians too blinded by their pain and, yes, pride to hang in there through the difficult times inherent in marriage renewal.
For example, recently I had two couples in back-to-back sessions facing the same ultimatum: is this marriage worth the hard work necessary for restoration?

One couple pushed the 'yes' button. The other chose 'no.'

I'm certainly not judging either couple; they both had valid reasons for their decision.
But what intrigued me was that the currently unbelieving couple chose to honor their vows.
The Christian couple broke down.
It's a reminder to me that we need to nurture our relationships in order to keep them healthy. We can't let ourselves become cocky about our lives and our mates; rather, we need to continually monitor our attitudes and behaviors. Otherwise, we risk creating a chasm that we (or our mate) may be too exhausted or wounded to clambor over.
We can't be arrogant about our faith either. Just as good relationships draw you closer to God, difficult relationships can pull you away.

It's all in the attitude.