National Association of Marriage Enhancement

The Unlucky Marriage

Luck (n.) things that happen to a person because of chance; the accidental way things happen without being planned 

I think its funny how often our culture attaches luck to love. I love the song “Lucky I’m in Love With My Best Friend.” It is so cute and fun. The truth is most happy marriages have to be aware of and acknowledge how blessed they are. Mentally, spousal partners need to view themselves as blessed in order to be truly grateful. As Christians, we need to remember that luck does not apply to us. Our marriages are not simply “good luck.” They are hard work and a whole lot of Jesus.

It was not good luck that caused my husband and I to marry. It was divine providence. We all had choices when we were dating, but God ordained and officiated that marital covenant on our wedding day.

It was not good luck that made him to be an excellent spouse. It was not luck of the draw, and I did not pick the winning ticket. My husband had been working at becoming an excellent spouse his whole life prior to me, because his whole Christian life he had been growing and becoming further sanctified in his faith.

It is not good luck that we are where we are in our marital journey. This place may seem effortless, but it has not been without a lot of hard work and effort. There have been difficult conversations, necessary conflicts for growth and painful trials.

It is not good luck that we can reconcile our differences and get along unlike other marriages. It is Jesus’ grace and forgiveness inside us that causes us to unite despite how different we both can be.

I am in a very unlucky marriage. There have been no accidental happenings. We have not left things up to chance. Instead, we continue to build our marriage on Jesus, wisdom and a lot of hard work. We are far from perfect; that is an ongoing journey. But we are also far from lucky. We are indeed blessed, and we are indeed in the sovereign hands of God and are daily walking out His purposes in our life. Great marriages are not lucky. Great marriages are blessed to be unlucky, because they know their success comes from the Lord and the following of His principles.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” Proverbs 16:33.

Happy St. Patricks Day! May it be unlucky and exactly how God designed it to be!