At every wedding I attend, there is always a moment when advice is given to the newlyweds on how to have a happy & successful marriage while keeping the love strong through the years. Sometimes this advice is given during the sermon, or by a family member during their toast, but the most common publicly heard advice is heard after the longest married couple has shared a dance on the dance floor and share their secret to 30, 40, and this past weekend – 61 years of marriage. So I decided to share these pearls of wisdom and add to the list whenever I hear (and remember) another good one – and I hope others will share too:
1. Never go to bed angry
2. Always respect each other, and listen to one another
3. A happy wife means a happy life – I particularly like this one 
4. Patience
5. Pick your battles
6. When you come home from a long day at work, be sure that you still have some of yourself to give to your spouse
7. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Answering the question of what advice would you, the longest married couple, give to the newlyweds to have a long & happy marriage?
