WHY MARRIAGE?
Marriage is the acknowledgment that our partner is special to
us on all levels and that we are committed to the growth of
love in the relationship. Marriage is a promise that we will
hold our partner as more special than anyone else for our life-
time.
Without this commitment, something very important will
be missing. For a woman to give a man the kind of special love,
appreciation, acceptance, and trust that he wants, she must
feel confident that her needs will also be met. She needs to feel
that he adores, cares for, understands, and respects her so
much that he will always be there for her. By settling for any-
thing less, they will have less. The love they feel in their hearts
will not have a chance to develop fully and be expressed.
REAL AND LASTING LOVE
The love we feel when we are engaged is not only real and
lasting but also infused with hope. It is like a seed that contains
the vision of possibilities for our future. It is the foundation
on which we will build our lives. To nurture that seed and give
it a chance to grow, we must take the time in stage five to cel-
ebrate our love.
Moving through the five stages of dating could be compared
to baking a cake. Mixing all the ingredients together happens
during the first four stages; then, stage five is the equivalent
to putting it all into the oven. For the cake to rise there needs
to be enough baking time. Taking several months in stage five
gives us a chance not only to feel the warmth of our love but
to make it solid.
Finding true and lasting love doesn’t mean we will be able
STAGE FIVE: ENGAGEMENT / 127