A Break in the Clouds

Behind the wall of clouds of an approaching stormfront, a 5 hour storm might be trailing . . . or it could be a 5 minute storm.

In the midst of the storm, it's easy to become overwhelmed. Here's an important study that suggests that many (or most?) marriages can break through the storm into a brighter future.

When researchers examined data from the late 1980s on 5,232 married adults, they found that 645 subjects reported marital dissatisfaction. When the unhappy spouses were surveyed five years later, those who had remained married were more likely than divorced subjects to state that they were happy. In fact, the most miserable marriages had the most dramatic turnarounds: 78 percent of people who stayed in "very unhappy" marriages said that the marriages were currently happy.

"For most people, marital unhappiness was not permanent," says University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, Ph.D., whose findings were published by the Institute for American Values. Critics point out that the organization is a pro-family think tank and that Waite herself co-authored The Case for Marriage: Why Married People are Happier, Healthier and Better Off Financially.

This is a reminder that in the midst of a marital storm, staying the course and upholding the life-long nature of biblical marriage, will likely result in a break in the clouds.

Fear of Falling

A Temple University researcher, Roberta Newton, believes she has found evidence that the fear of falling increases the likelihood of falling. Among older adults very concerned about injury from falling, it seems their very concern caused them to picture the potential fall so much that the body seemed to follow the lead of the mental picture.

Could those who fear particular sins and abnormally focus on them actually increase the likelihood of them "falling"? Is that why the Apostle Paul says,

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  Philippians 4:8-9 

God, may we focus on the good that others are doing and that we can do.