About 10 years ago, I was doing a summer internship at a metal fabrication plant in Oregon, and one of my co-interns was “head-over-heals” in love for a girl he knew. We talked as we worked and he started asking me questions about life, love, relationships. …most, I let him answer himself, but then he came to me one day and asked, “how do you know when the love you feel for someone will last forever?”
I asked him, are you sure you want the answer to that? He replied, “I want to ask her to marry me, so yeah, I think I should know.” So we sat down, and I explained, a love that will last forever will know how to answer these questions to himself without reservation: if you two were married tomorrow, and that very day, you were involved in a car accident, you are fine, but she is completely paralyzed, unknown if she is aware, but able to breathe on her own, just needs a feeding tube and is awake: how do you handle this? Do you take care of her the rest of her life? Do you put her in a home? Do you try to move on ? do you stay by her side?
He went white…”I don’t know….does anybody?” Well, given divorce statistics, most don’t know how they would answer it either. Love only lasts forever, if most of your joy comes in loving her, not in being loved by her, because only one is dependent on you.
Two days later he came to me and said, “I’ve decided to wait on marriage a little longer, I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
If only most of us thought with such wisdom.
Wisdom is Found Through Experience 
Zion, this is a perfect example of marriage. My prime example was my grandparents and parents. My grandparents stayed together through all health issues. My parents did too. My dad was there for my through her cancer until she passed to be with God. I didn’t have that. I had someone that wasn’t concerned about my health or staying with me. I am glad to have found it all out early. Your blog gives the rest of us an opportunity to talk also. Thanks!
I’m hoping to generate ideas and conversation. It’s unlikely I’ll change my position on what I write, but not impossible….and I don’t seek to change others, I just put milepost down with an hour….water this way for the thirsty. All these years, I wasn’t talking, but I was always listening.