Why Couples Must Row in Unison

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
TODAY • Wednesday • June 11, 2008

By Dr James Dobson

Imagine two boats drifting together on a choppy lake. A man sits in one of them and a woman in the other. They have every intention of crossing the lake together because they genuinely care about each other.

But slowly, they begin to drift apart. Each catches different currents and gusts of wind that turn their little boats in opposite directions. Before they know it, one person is at the north end of the lake and the other bobs along at the south.

They can hardly communicate without shouting from such a great distance. And by then, there are a number of children in a third boat, little bewildered children.

This is a dramatic analogy to the plight of too many marriages today.

Husbands and wives begin their journey side by side, with every intention of remaining together for a lifetime. But the pressures of everyday living turn them in their own directions and towards their own pursuits, and away from each other.

Unless both the husband and the wife are willing to row, work together, talk through their difficulties and compromise, it’s likely they will not reach the far side of the lake together.

But this need not happen. Their boats can remain side by side, if each partner is willing to row. Otherwise, the currents of culture will separate them forever.