What's Your Definition Of Marriage??

I have been married ro 6 years and divorced and now going on 10 years married with my current hubby. The definition of marriage, to me, is communication and work between 2 people. This is what happened with my first marriage. It turned abusive, but before that and even during, if we had some sort of communication skills and we actually WORKED on our relationship, it may have worked out. Me and my current husband work everyday on our marriage. If we didn't, we would be divorced about 45 times by now. LOL You have to communicate and work on things constantly. Marriage is not the way the Fairy Tales make it seem. It's hard work, but totally worth every bit of it. :)

i don't think marriage is fading, but co-habitating is becoming quite popular. it's about 50/50 right now in the US. i just read an article about it on MSN.com. the definition of MY marriage... laughter. we try not to take things too seriously. i am so lucky to have married a man that makes me feel like a woman and who also makes me laugh. we have fun together and try not to let life stress us out. we have love and laughter and with those two things we can get through ANYTHING! we just had our son 5 months ago and he was a pleasant surprise. talk about a wedding night pregnancy! anyway...we struggled a bit with finances and bit by bit we have figured things out and are doing alright now. really, marriage for us is about communication and love and friendship and laughter. we talk things out, we work on things, we love each other and we love being around each other. sure, a girls trip to the mall is nice sometimes, but generally, i LIKE being with my husband, i LIKE doing stuff with him. together we are a team that is unstoppable. the hardest part...he is a Marine and in about a week he'll be deploying for 6 months. it'll be o.k. b/c i'm tough and i'm strong and i don't depend on him to live, but life with him is sooo much better. what i'm getting at is that when he is gone my life doesn't stop. i don't stop being me, i carry on and live a happy life until he comes back. plus, the time away, albeit long, allows us to MISS each other. then, when we are reunited we feel all those excited feelings all over again! i hope i have renewed some of your faith. take care.

marriage is sharing and loving,give and take,and respect to each other..I am married to my husband for almost 5 years and i am so greatful that we are still tied to each other.Although he is in abroad working,still i give him 90% trust,i know him that he will not do anything that can destroy our relationship.In return,he trusted me also and he is responsible enough to provide what we need as a family.Marriage,what ever it takes,resembles happiness.

LOL that is funny I've never heard of that. My husband and I have split up after 18 years of marriage. Marriage is something you really have to work at and as Dr Phil says it's not 50/50 it's 100/100. We will always love and care for each other it was just our interests changed and we didn't do a lot of things together. We just grew apart. But I think for it to be successful you have to want to work at it, have things in common and share the same dreams.

I'm sure if i can answer your question as such. My marriage is pretty much equal. I respect my wife and she repects me. We care for each other alot and we don't argue, we talk about things as it's annoying when needless arguements start in my opinion. Marriage in my opinion, should be formed by those who can respect each other and always get on things and not to allow issues to raise up. I'm not saying it as to be perfect, nothing is. although i try to keep things as close to happyiness. Kudos ~Joey

I dream that one day i would walk down the aisle with the one i truly love for the rest of my life and it happened two years ago, with the span of 2 years i found out that marriage is not full of bed of roses but every rose has its thorns...but inspite of it, inspite of the fact that were both facing problems we still hold on the promise we utter on the altar.Marriage needs "YOU" and "I" to make it happen, its not just you alone or i alone...it cannot work alone it needs "two to tango".So here are what we called 10 Rules for a Happy Marriage....just want to share it.. 1)Never both be angry at the same time. 2)Never yell at each other unless the house in on fire. 3)If one of you has to win an arguement, let it be your mate. 4)If you have to criticize, do it lovingly. 5)Never bring up mistakes of the past. 6)Neglect the whole world rather than your each other. 7)Never go to sleep with an arguement unsettled. 8)At least once everyday try to say one kind or complimentary thing to your life's partner. 9)When you have done something wrong, be ready to admit it and ask for forgiveness. 10)It takes two to make a quarrel, and the one who is wrong is the one who does the most talking. Marriage is a lifetime commitment, a thing to be treasured for life...

According to me, if everything is managed properly then there may not be any problem in getting married and lead a happy married life.First of all i would say to pick a girl of your choice and know and understand her better and you will know whether she is for you or not and tonce youd ecide she is the one, then i think you both should respect each other and after getting married mutual trust and respect for each other will carry you for ward without any hassles for sure...

I think actually defining marriage in a general sense is pretty hard to do since to so many different ppl it means so many different things ya know...For my hubby and I though...defining our marriage in a way that others can understand is hard LOL but bottomline is this..We've been together for goin on 9 yrs, been married for 4..have had very rough times but got through them..we have an open marriage of sorts, we dont share a bed or a room for that matter, we talk openly about things and our communcation is amazing..we work fabulously as a couple but also as a family unit even though we are two completely different ppl from two completely different worlds.....As he puts it - I make him reach for the stars and he keeps me grounded - and it works.....thats marriage to me..

Marriage is a lifetime commitment to one other person and only one other person. Unfortunately today, with the way divorce rates are and all the cheating spouses out there, people seem to forgotten this, but that's still what marriage is supposed to be all about.

For me marriage has been 47 years of much happiness, mingled with shared sorrows and frustrations which were lessened because of our sharing. Marriage has brought us five wonderful sons and the joys of seeing them grow into wonderful adults, married to fine ladies and rearing well behaved children. Marriage has been 47 years of togetherness. Marriage continues to grow more precious and more rewarding as the years pass. What is our secret? It is no secret. To us marriage was, and still is, a total commitment of each of us to the other, to love and respect each other and to work together to maintain a healthy, loving relationship and a strong, solid base for our family. We are united in our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and we know, love and serve Him together, recognising His Lordship and giving Him authority as the absolute Head of our lives and of our home. We did not rush into marriage. We were friends. We respected each other. We honoured each other. We communicated and got to know each other: our likes and dislikes, our personalities and characteristics. Both of us had kept ourselves for each other and the marriage night was the joy of a lifetime commitment, which neither of us have regretted or even thought to break. As you can see, I cannot agree with you about the third ring. Our marriage is joyful. Good discussion. Thanks.

Marriage is a commitment made between the couple. Commitment to love, understand, stay faithful, to take care of each other. It is not bed of roses, but then again whose relationships are anyway? It is actually a humbling experience, because you no longer say "I" but "We". Don't expect to have the perfect marriage or relationship because you will only end up getting frustrated. But instead try to accept one another and be gentle with each others flaws and mistakes. The more you accept the easier for you to love and forgive.

People have this perception that marriage must be perfect- no quarrels, everything runs smoothly, couples love each other deeply all the time. So enter it with loving arms. But when they wake up in the morning and find out that their marriage consists of two persons with varying backgrounds, differing personalities and opposing mindset, they immediately jump boat, so to speak. Ours is a typical marriage. we have our ups and downs, but one thing that we always do is never give up. at the end of the day, we still lie beside each other. when we wake up, we are still in each other's arms. we no longer say sorry to each other because we have realized the meaning of 'love means never having to say sorry'. if we love each other, we dont have to say sorry because we know that we will accept one another no matter how many mistakes we have made and no matter how we hurt each other. also, the main, and foremost, thing that we do is to ask God to always be the center of our relationship. when we include Him in our relationship, we follow His rules, our roles. So, since we have defined roles, we stick to it and our bond becomes stronger despite and inspite of our differences and 'dynamics'.

my perception of marriage had undergone a tremendous change.as a child i had viewd my parents fight over small issues n had thought why do people need to marry if they can't tolerate each other.later on as i grew up n saw them getting older.i realised that despite their so apparent differences they do care for eachother..a sort of dependence which has grown over the years..now i feel its basically companionship, sharing ,caring in a mesh of love that defines marriage

I am not married yet,but I have my own definition of it as everyone has.I feel,marriage requires lots of understanding and the partners should be best friends,so that they can share everything with each other. Besides,as everyone else demands,trust,love,warmth,compromise,adjustment are compulsary elements for a successful marriage.I don't know much about the experience of live together but I believe there is lack of security and committment in it.Don't you think so?May be many can disagree with me,but I think marriage is a life time committment,an assurance of of being together in all circumstances of life.What say friends?

For me, marriage is composed of husband and wife uniting as one. It is holy and sacred. Right now, I'm still single, a lot of thinkings on getting married. I should think twice or more so that I can make sure that it will be my best decision to make. I want to spend my life for someone that I truly love.

Hi, The wedding ring comes into picture when the person is blindly belives eachother. Marriage ring:when they feel they want to be together and understand eachother and they think without eachother it is very difficult to lead in future. Suffer ring: When they feel after the long understanding between eachother still the understanding level is not upto the mark and then it leads to the disaster that is Divorce.

Marriage: Communication on every level, from the most mundane to the very complex; sense of humour - must have, but always laugh with each other, not use cruel laughter at each other as a weapon; never take your arguments to bed (an oldie but goodie). Both continue to to pursue own interests and hobbies. When you catch yourself taking the partnership for granted, smack yourself side of the head, and do something together outside the box - keep it fresh, and it won't start to stink.

It is said that marriage is made in heaven. But in my opinion it's definitely made on earth and it needs both the persons to work to keep it, no matter how good they have define the marriage. Since I'm still single, I can't say about the secret for keeping the marriage work or so.

I don't think that the actual rings and marriage makes a difference. If you love eachother you are going to be together no matter what. I am married because of VISA issues, I wouldn't ever want to be without my husband but since he's american and I'm Swedish we had to get married a few years earlier than we would have if we could wait.

Marriage as defined in the Bible requires a man(male) to leave father and mother and to cleave to his wife(female) and that they become one flesh. Marriage is ordained of God. When a man and a woman become one flesh, that means that where one is weak, the other's strength will uplift them and between the two of them they are one strong unit. It also means that their problems are confidential and should not be broadcast to others outside the walls of their home unless abuse needs to be reported. Into most units children are born, having characteristics of both father and mother, coming together in one flesh, the child. When love abounds in that family unit all members grow together in love and respect. A husband and wife are equal partners in a family as they raise their children. One does not rule the other but they must work out reasonable rules together to govern their home. When there is disagreement they should reason together and try to work it out in a loving way. If the children are old enough to reason, they should be allowed to help make the rules of the home and set the punishment for disobedience. That way they are more likely to accept discipline if they themselves helped set the rules. Men and women are naturally different from each other in many ways. Each should recognize these differences and not try to force the other to change to suit them. Many times when a good example is set, change is accomplished through the desire to imitate that example. Children usually grow up to be like their parents so we usually have no one to blame if we aren't good examples(sometimes there are exceptions to this though). Marriage has to be worked at. Over and over each member has to forgive the trespasses from each individual member of his family. That is not always an easy task, especially between a man and his wife nor between siblings. When we allow our feelings to be hurt and we do not resolve it with our spouse, it will fester and become exagerated in our minds often to the point of no return. This exageration is a great tool of the devil. A wise one once said a married couple should never go to bed without resolving ambically any arguement that arises during any day. Don't lay in bed hurting. Get it out and resolve it. It usually can be worked out and love can heal it. Shouting at each other never accomplishes anything. When love and kindness is exhibited between a husband and wife a marriage will endure. My husband and I have been married for 46 years, we have 4 grown children, 15 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Marriage is not always rosey, but unless there is true abuse, most things can be worked through and will be worth it.