It seems like a lot of people are getting divorced that I know, oh wait, they are… :( Anyway, I have had some major ups and downs in the last few years in my own marriage and I have recently been inspired by this thought: If someone told you right when you got married that you would be divorced in however many years with however many children, would you do anything different to try to prevent it?  I have been thinking about this a lot and my answer is yes.  I would work harder at communicating my feelings, I would compromise more, I would serve my spouse more, I would show affection more, I would be less critical, etc…  This list could go on forever.  The point is, if you are lazy with your marriage, you may as well expect it to end at some point and it shouldn't be a big surprise; and for those who are still in a marriage, you can start today to try to make your marriage stronger by already doing those things.  You get what you give in most marriages and it has really been an eye opener for me that my husband isn't the only one who needs to work on things - I do just as much.  I know some things happen that are out of our control and everyone's circumstances are different, but the majority of failed marriages occur because one or both partners didn't give enough.  It's like that things I see on Facebook, marriage isn't 50-50, it has to be 100-100, both have to give their all to make it work.  I didn't want to put this on fb because I don't know if anyone would find it offensive, but for my own marriage, this has been in some cases what has kept me from giving up.