10 Ways To Improve Your Marriage

11
has stood by him during some difficult times
in their married life. One discouraging period
of time stands out in his memory. As a struggling
young minister, Pastor Hill had trouble
earning enough money for his family. That led
him to invest the family’s scarce resources, over
his wife’s objections, in the purchase of a service
station. She felt her husband lacked both time
and expertise to manage this investment. Her
prediction proved to be accurate. Before long,
the station went broke, and Pastor Hill lost everything
he put into the business.
This was a critical time in Pastor Hill’s life
as he failed at something important to him. Jane
could have been justified in saying: “I told you
so.” However, she understood her husband’s
vulnerability and responded in an extraordinary
way. When Pastor Hill came home he expected
Jane to be upset with him for the foolish
investment. Instead, she sat down with him and
rationalized: “I’ve been doing some figuring. I
figure that you don’t smoke and you don’t drink.
If you smoked and drank, you would have lost
as much as you lost in the service station. So…
let’s forget it.”