If you were married in England a few hundred years ago you might take a shoe to the side of the head after your wedding ceremony. Back then people thought throwing shoes at newlyweds would bring the couple good luck. A similar thing happened in Ireland. Couples on their way to the church to get married had to dodge rice — and a few pots and pans. Both traditions were meant to bring couples good luck.

Good luck?

Maybe a few bruises and black eyes.

Any married couple knows good luck, chance or happenstance doesn’t do much to make a marriage work — let alone make it stronger. The components that can do that for a marriage are love, faithfulness, commitment, honor, respect and prayer.

The problem is, not everyone has gotten the memo. Seems a lot of people would rather rely on their feelings, whims, advice from friends, marketers, the media and cultural messages when it comes to making their marriages work. Don’t be fooled. Marriage requires more.

In the following pages you’ll see that it’s never too late to save a broken marriage. You’ll journey with a couple who learned through marriage, divorce and remarriage that there is no “plan B” when it comes to God’s choice of a life partner. You’ll also discover the impact on society and families when traditional marriages are undermined.

One of the best ways to strengthen your marriage is for you and your spouse to make priorities of faithfulness, commitment, honor, respect, love and prayer. Rice, shoes, pots, pans and good luck have nothing to do with a good, strong marriage — and they never will.

Kirk Noonan

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