It is hard to look at the news lately. There are so many things going wrong I can’t help but feel helpless that I can’t change things. However, there are things I can change. Particularly my relationship with my family, especially my wife.
As most of you know, I have an awesome wife in Lori. Even after 43 years of marriage she gives me butterflies in my stomach when she walks into a room. I can make you a promise that as long as I draw breath, I will still love Lori. But that doesn’t mean that marriage doesn’t come without working at it and I’ll admit that Lori has to work at it more than I do.
About a year ago I learned that an organization we love, Focus On The Family, based in Colorado Springs has a couple of locations in the country where they hold marriage retreats. Decades ago Lori and I attended a video presentation by Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family and it was a real blessing to our marriage. Now that we are older, I thought it would be a good time to do it again and had looked for a time that we could do it. Don’t get the wrong idea. We have a terrific marriage but just wanted to make it better. The analogy I would use is that if you own a Ferrari and love to drive it, how much fun is it to drive if it needs a tune up? Not very fun, and it might be a little uncomfortable. That is what marriage is like.
I looked at locations, one was in Michigan and seemed like it might be nice but cold in the winter. The other location was outside Branson, Missouri. Since Branson was in easy driving distance, we decided a weekend there would be pretty nice. We found there were several programs, some more intense and longer in duration, but we chose a weekend program called “Taking Marriage To Great!”
We left Forney last Friday morning and crossed the Red River just above Paris, Texas after I showed Lori the Eifel Tower. The drive through Eastern Oklahoma and Western Missouri was breathtaking. We got to Branson right just after dark and arrived at the retreat about 6:30 on Friday. The Retreat was made up of about a dozen small, couple-size cabins that were lit up with string lights. All of the cabins looked brand new and immaculate on the inside. The first thing we noticed was there is no TV. Of course, it is a marriage retreat and the object is to communicate.
The first session started at 7pm and was led by Pam who is a licensed therapist and her husband Greg who is a Deputy Sheriff in Taney County. Pam explained that most couples that conduct retreats have one spouse that works in a different field and she only knows of one where both spouses are licensed therapists. Lori and I were as impressed with their interaction and the obvious love and communication they share as we were with the material they covered. Just meeting them was a blessing. Besides the session on Friday we met all day Saturday and on Sunday morning.
On Saturday we got to see the retreat in daylight and it was stunning. It sits on a bluff high above Lake Taneycomo with the town of Branson just beyond. One of the best parts of the retreats was the food. All of the meals were included and they were first rate.
We have far too many friends who have had marriages end in divorce. When it happens it breaks our hearts too. Don’t let it come to that. This is a great place to give healing your marriage a try. Even if you have a good marriage there is nothing wrong with “Taking Your Marriage to Great!”
You can book a retreat like we did at: focusonthefamily.com/marriage
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