Make it last for a lifetime.

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO LAST FOREVER, YOU TREAT IT DIFFERENTLY. IT IS SPECIAL…BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE IT SO.
IF YOU WERE GOING OUT TO BUY A CAR TODAY…WHICH CAR WOULD YOU BUY?
If YOU WERE GOING OUT TO BUY A CAR TODAY…AND YOU KNEW IT WOULD BE THE ONLY CAR YOU WOULD EVER BUY, AND IT WOULD NEED TO LAST YOU A LIFE TIME…WHICH CAR WOULD YOU BUY?
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY….HOW WOULD YOU TREAT THAT ONE AND ONLY CAR, IF YOU KNEW IT HAD TO LAST YOU A LIFETIME?
1. YOU WOULD KEEP IT CLEAN.
YOU WOULD WASH IT, INSIDE AND OUT. IF YOU SPILLED SOMETHING ON THE CARPET, YOU WOULD SHAMPOO IT OUT SO IT DIDN’T BEGIN TO STINK, OR WORSE, ROT. IT WOULD BE A PRIORITY.

2. YOU WOULD CHANGE THE OIL, RIGHT ON TIME, KNOWING THAT CLEAN OIL IS THE LIFE OF THE ENGINE. IT WOULD BE A PRIORITY.
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3. YOU WOULD CHECK THE WATER AND ANTI-FREEZE REGULARLY, KNOWING THIS IS WHAT MAINTAINS AND REGULATES THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ENGINE IN THE HEAT OF JULY AND THE BITTER COLD OF JANUARY. IT WOULD BE A PRIORITY.
4. YOU WOULD PUT IT IN THE GARAGE EVERY NIGHT TO KEEP IT PROTECTED FROM THE ELEMENTS. IT WOULD BE A PRIORITY.
5. YOU WOULD PERFORM PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE ON A REGULAR BASIS. YOU WOULDN'T WAIT FOR SOMETHING TO BREAK, LIKE A TIMIMG BELT, WHICH WOULD BNED AND BREAK LOTS OF OTHER STUFF IN THE ENGINE. IT WOULD BE A PRIORITY.

IN SHORT, IF YOU KNEW THIS CAR HAD TO LAST A LIFETIME, YOU WOULD TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT.
SOME OF YOUR FRIENDS MIGHT MAKE FUN OF YOU, OR EVEN CHASTISE YOU FOR BEING SO FINICKY ABOUT IT. THEY WOULD TELL YOU IT IS SILLY TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON A CAR. THEY MIGHT SAY, “I JUST DRIVE THE WHEELS OFF MY CAR, THEN I TRADE IT IN FOR ANOTHER ONE”. “YOU ARE CRAZY; NO ONE DRIVES A CAR FOR LIFE!”

NOW, WHAT IF I APPROACHED MY MARRIAGE WITH THE FRAME OF MIND; "THIS IS MY ONE AND ONLY MARRIAGE. IT WILL NEED TO LAST ME FOR A LIFETIME."
HOW WOULD I TREAT IT?
A LOT DIFFERENT, I SUPPOSE.

1. I WOULD KEEP OUR MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP CLEAN, INSIDE AND OUT.
LIFE HAS A WAY OF DEPOSITING IT’S DIRT, GRIME, AND ROAD FILM ON OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND ON US. AND WE ALL STEP IN GREASE ON OCCASION OR SPILL SOMETHING STICKY ON EACH OTHER UNINTENTIONALLY. (A RUDE OR SARCASTIC COMMENT) UNCLEANLINESS IN A MARRIAGE CAN BE ANYTHING FROM AN AFFAIR, OR PORNOGRAPHY, TO UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS, AND SELFISHNESS.
KEEPING MY MARRIAGE CLEAN REQUIRES SOME DETAIL WORK. I NEED TO KEEP MY HUMILTY SOAP AND MY HUMBLE VACUUM CLEANER IN GOOD WORKING ORDER. KEEP IT CLEAN. IT IS A PRIORITY.
2. REMEMBER; MARRIAGE IS A 3 WAY PARTNERSHIP. I NEED TO KEEP THE OIL OF GLADNESS, THE OIL OF HEALING, THE OIL OF ANNOINTING, CLEAN AND FRESH. CLEAN OIL KEEPS DOWN THE FRICTION OF MOVING PARTS, YOU KNOW. IT IS A PRIORITY.
3. I NEED TO CHECK THE WATER AND THE ANTI-FREEZE. I NEED TRUTH TO REIGN IN EMOTIONS AND STAY REGULATED. NOT TO HOT…NOT TOO COLD. A GENTLE WORD OF AFFECTION THAT BUILDS SECURITY AND TRUST WHEN IT GETS HOT…AND A LITTLE ROMANCE WHEN IT STARTS GETTING COLD.
4. I WOULD PLACE MY MARRIAGE IN A SAFE, PROTECTED PLACE AT NIGHT. GOING TO SLEEP ANGRY LEAVES THE RELATIONSHIP EXPOSED TO ALL KINDS OF DAMAGING ELEMENTS. THE WINDS OF RESENTMENT, THE HAIL OF BITTERNESS, THE SLEET OF DISCONTENT. THE SAFEST PLACE FOR MY MARRIAGE IS IN THE GARAGE OF RE-TURNING TOWARD EACH OTHER, FORGIVENESS, AND GRACE. IT IS A PRIORITY.
5. I WOULD MAKE TIME TO GROW MY MARRIAGE BY SPENDING TIME WITH MY WIFE AT A MOVIE, OR DINNER, OR A GOOD COLOR CODE MEETING. RENEW THE BASICS OF COMMITTMENT, SHARING FEELINGS, LISTENING, HOLDING HANDS, PRAYING TOGETHER. KEEP IT IN GOOD SHAPE, NOT WAITING UNTIL SOMETHING BREAKS. IT IS A PRIORITY.

YESTERDAY, I ATTENDED A FUNERAL. I WATCHED AS A WIDOW OF A 52 YEAR MARRIAGE, RAISED HER RIGHT HAND IN WORSHIP OF HER HEAVENLY FATHER WHO HAD BLESSED HER WITH A LIFE LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, HER HUSBAND. THE VALUE OF LIFETIME MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP WAS RENEWED WITHIN MY MIND AND HEART. I AM SURE THEY HAD THEIR DIFFICULTIES, AND TIMES WHEN IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ALONG, BUT IN THE LONG RUN, THEY CHOSE TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF EACH OTHER.
AND IN THE END, I AM REMINDED, ONCE AGAIN; WHEN IT IS ALL SAID AND DONE, LIFE IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.