Why do marriages fail? Why is the rate of divorce on the rise? Why do we have broken homes and battered families in our society today than we have ever known? Many questions but very few answers. But I feel the root can be traced to the fact that mankind has deviated from the original intent for which the creator ordained marriage.

In the first place marriage is designed to be between a man (singular) and his wife (again singular). Secondly either the parties in a marriage are ignorant of their role or they simply refuse to play their God given role. Every wife has a God ordained role and every husband has his role or part to play. Let us look at some of what is expected of a wife in a marriage that must succeed. Every woman can be married and stay married if they understand this and do so. In our society we have a lot of people that hear or talk yet they fail to do. And all the time that is what makes the difference between success and failure.

What does the creator expect of the woman in a marriage relationship? What must a woman do for her marriage to be saved?

(1) Submission: We live in an age where women liberation is advocated for a lot. Submission however does not mean slavery. Submission does not make you a lesser being than the one you are submitting to. Submission means to relinquish your stance out of respect for the one to whom you are submitting to. If women understand this most of the quarrels and separations in marriage would be avoided. Argue with it all you like but the truth is men demand and expect to get respect and reverence from their spouses. Submission does not mean fear. Submission means that as a woman I recognize and accept the headship of the man who is my husband.

(2) Satisfaction: Satisfy his every need especially the physical one (most notably sex) within godly limits. I knew of a woman whose husband demanded sex of her very single day. I repeat every single day. She felt that was simply crazy and she could not cope. This led to fights every other day. Off cause the man sought for satisfaction elsewhere. Again naturally her marriage became threatened. She told herself the truth that she needed to get herself straightened out if her marriage must be saved. Thankful enough she did. Guess what? As son as she began to satisfy his above the bar sexual advances things straightened out and she still has a happy marriage till today.

(3) Accommodation: You want to know the number one secret for a successful marriage? The answer is tolerance. Short fuses blow marriages. You must learn tolerance if you must stay married and happy. You need to accommodate your partner’s weaknesses. You can be sure that the men have weaknesses though they will be the last to ever admit that. Accommodate the fact that the man is not likely to stay romantic forever. He may start out romantic but as the pressure of every day living increases he will tend to leave romance on the back-burner for a time. Though you need to remember, that no amount of pressure will ever get him to be tired of having sex.

(4) Devotion: It is impossible to succeed at what you are not devoted to. You cannot have a happy marriage if you are not devoted to it.The big book says that it is the wise woman that builds her home, the foolish goes ahead to tear down hers. In this age of women liberation a lot of women out there see themselves as “career women”. As a woman you have got to decide which is more important to you. The key is prioritizing. Career is important, but family is more important. No man likes to play second fiddle to anything or anyone. Build a career while neglecting your home and your husband and you will end up a loser. Nobody said not to have a career but undue attention to your career will compromise your home and tear it down.

(5) Communication: This is very vital to marriage and relationship of any kind. However you must know when to talk and when to be silent. Just because you are talking does not mean that you are communicating. Don’t be a chatterbox. There are times all the man wants is a little bit of quiet. Be sensitive enough to recognize such moments. Learn to read the man’s moods and know what is appropriate for when. Don’t engage in endless chatter soon after he has returned from the workplace. That is also not the time to inundate him with all the problems of the day and the bills that are due. He certainly does not want to leave the office to come home to another “office”.

These are by no means all but can certainly serve as a guide for any woman wanting to have a good happy marriage or a good lasting relationship. Best of luck and the grace of God be with you.