Preparing for marriage

I recently attended a marriage preparation course for Catholic couples religiously for six weeks in order to obtain a certificate that allows me to get married in church. I must admit I'm quite glad it's over, as it has been quite an intensive experience, but that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it or benefit from it.

The notion of preparing for marriage must strike some people as being rather strange, as opposed to the idea of preparing for one's wedding, which would hardly raise an eyebrow. I think many people still hold the belief that when two people in love decide to get married, they must be adequately prepared in some way or other already. But I think the life-changing experience that is to come is hardly something that most dating couples can comprehend, hence the need for marriage preparation.

Although many things that were said during the course were not exactly new to me, such as the need for communication or the need to make time for each other, the opportunity to learn vicariously through the experiences of other married couples or fellow dating couples was something that I found valuable.

The course also served to remind me that couples should not take each other for granted. It is so easy to become careless in considering the feelings of one's other half, to neglect to accord to one's partner the respect he or she deserves over time that one more reminder is never one too many.

The road to marital bliss will never be a smooth one. But if couples treat each other with respect and take the time to communicate with each other, then this road will definitely make for the most enjoyable ride of a lifetime.