Decision to get married

The decision to get married is a very serious one.  This is the person with whom you will spend the rest of your life.  If you are not yet ready to make that commitment, then you shouldn't get married.  Sometimes if one has been dating a while they may feel pressure from their boyfriend or girlfriend, from friends, or even parents to get married.  Or if one has reached an age where most of their friends are already married they may feel if I don't get married now, I may never get married.  Or perhaps one is afraid to hurt their partner by breaking off thre relationship they aren't totally happy with.  Sometimes individuals will stay in relationships because they feel alone, their partner is a nice person, financially stable, very attractive or because they already reluctantly started wedding plans and now feel obligated to carry things through.  These are not reasons to get married.  Marriage is sharing one's life with another individual, frequently submitting one's own desires to please their partner.  One should have some common interests, a basic level of compatibility, and chemistry as a married couple spends a lot of time together.  Imagine not enjoying spending time together with that special someone.  Making such a commitment after only a few months of dating without having the opportunity to really get to know your potential spouse is risking the rest of your life.  But marriage can be a wonderful experience if you choose wisely.  There is no perfect person but there probably is a perfect person for you.  We hope that you have found that individual. 

A very useful book which we used in our premarital counseling which discusses the roles of husband and wife is "Before You Say I Do" by Norma Wright and Wes Roberts.