Thursday, June 25, 2009

Hearts are Breaking

posted by Michele Olson


We move from the news of Jon and Kate to the news of Governor Sanford and his wife Jenny. Once again, an affair is part of the downfall of a marriage. Governor Sanford said in his statement that what started out as a dear friendship turned into something more. This is the statement his wife Jenny has issued.

Please go back and read my Tuesday June 9th blog in the archives of this blog. It’s about building hedges around your marriage. This man who was smart enough to become Governor of a state should have been smart enough emotionally to know that when you play with fire, you eventually get burned. Your close friendships in marriage should be with someone of the same sex.

Now read my Wednesday blog. This is a private matter they will work on, and it is possible to reconcile. It is possible.

Hopefully, all this news of marriages breaking up will cause each of us to really take the extra time today and in the days to come to value and work on our marriages. Read books. Take workshops. Be kind to each other. Value your marriage. Build hedges around it. Become a Marriage Champion.

What do you think?

2 comments:

M. Denise Wilmer Barreto said...

You know Michelle - my heart breaks everytime I see this and believe me - I am more tuned in now that before.

I will say this. The constant stream of reporting this is heartbreaking because I would love to see some stories written on couples who have survived and thrived after this type of indiscretion.

How triumphant would it be to empower folks to care for their marriages in advance but also give people hope for reconciliation.

Right now -all we see is..

infidelity = divorce

Yes, there is shame and humiliation - especially for the person that was betrayed.

But what an amazing amount of composure, selflessness and grace must it take to come together - get help and THRIVE after such a traumatic occurance.

It can be done and more and more people need to see that to give them hope.

thinkmarriage.org said...

HI M,
Thanks for the comments! The good news is....there are many "ordinary people" who have survived and thrived...www.beyondaffairs.com is one place to see such an instance. When we are commenting in these social media forums, it is a chance for us to talk about reconciliation while marriage is on people's radar screens. It just seems lately, it has been more than usual in politics and Hollywood. All the more reason to shift people's attention to the fact there are answers other than just giving up. Keep blogging!