12 HABITS THAT WILL DESTROY YOUR MARRIAGE

7. TRUSTING YOUR "FEELINGS" MORE THAN YOUR COMMITMENT

Today the world woke up to the shock news of the passing away of an icon, Barbara Pierce Bush who died at the age of 92. Barbara Bush will go down in history as the wife and mother to 2 US Presidents not a mean achievement by all means. The only other woman to have achieved that was the wife of Quincy Adams the 2^nd President of the US whose son later on also became POTUS.

But more than that achievement, the other record that Barbara and her husband George Herbert Walker Bush I have set is that the couple held the title for the longest presidential marriage in American history, beating John and Abigail Adam’s 54-year union in 2000. They got married when he was 20 and she was 19 on January 6, 1945 and lived "happily-ever after" for 73 years until her death yesterday. Her husband was right there by her bed holding her hand as she passed on.

In a day and age when marriages are falling apart so easily, it is people like George and Barbara Bush that inspire Grace and I to keep going and prove to the world that marriage works. But what is the secret of such longevity in marriage? It is the realization that you made a commitment to each other till death do you part. Couples like the Bushes have discovered that love is a commitment not just a feeling. Their commitment to each other perseveres regardless of what they are feeling. According to Dave Willis author of 12 habits that lead to divorce, “the strength of such a commitment allows us to have a deeper intimacy, a stronger connection and a happier marriage.”

Of course there definitely were days when either George or Barbara “felt” like being married, but there were also  days that they felt why did I marry this man or woman. There is a possibility that they also felt for other people but didn't let those feelings steer them away from their commitment to each other. You see friends, feelings are fickle and they were never intended to be our primary reason of being and remaining together in marriage.