“One of the primary reasons why men tarry at “popping the question”—and why millions never do

“One of the primary reasons why men tarry at “popping the question”—and why millions never do—is fear of having a bad marriage.”

A thought by George Barna (2011-05-15) in his book, Futurecast: What Today's Trends Mean for Tomorrow's World (Kindle Locations 579-580). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Fear has a way of robbing us of so many good, exciting, fulfilling things in life such as marriage. I know there is pain in failure and there is a lot of pain in many families that people have grown up in. But it has also been said that there is no gain without pain.

I know the pain for those who run a marathon doesn’t keep them from training and then running or that only one person will win and all others will fail. That seems OK. But having a bad marriage keeps strong healthy, courageous men running away as fast as they can run.

Oh I know rejection is horrible. It leaves scars that are very difficult to heal. But living life with someone who has made a commitment to be there “till death do us part” is one of the greatest things in life to experience.

I was thinking today of that Tuesday night phone call from Kansas to Ohio and of my risking it all and asking Margaret to be my wife. If I wouldn’t have risked it all there would be no Stefanie for Andrew to marry or no Brett for Marissa and no Ashlyn Faith and Addison Grace – the best granddaughters a papa could ever have.

Yes there was the potential for failure but there was also the potential of a life filled with love, excitement, companionship and deep fulfillment. I’m glad that I took the risk and so are my kids and my grand kids.

How about you?

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“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

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