Mawage

 Mawage is what bwings us together today. Who doesn't love the Princess Bride? Such a great movie, but it’s the quote I want to focus on. Most people say that marriage is “the legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship”. This is just the dictionary term though. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Through marriage, they strive to do their best together in life, together. However, many people think that marriage needs to be delayed.

For many reasons, all seems valid. People say marriage needs to be delayed. You need to make sure you have a stable job, have a stable home, don’t get serious with anyone until you have these things, until you’re truly ready for that big step. For many people, they say this is to deter any rash decisions, which is good, but we also need to incorporate our Heavenly Father in what would be good for us to do. 

 Again, those all "seem" like good ideas, and for the most part they are, but to me, many people nowadays wait too long. I have many friends who are older than I am. Some have just graduated from college, but they aren’t dating, or even getting asked out on dates. I obviously don’t know the reasons as to why, but it’s not just around here. Part of it might be that people are worried that if they don’t focus on schooling to get a good job, they won’t be able to afford anything for a family. 

It looks to me that everyone is more worried about how to make the most amount of money in the fastest and easiest ways. People aren’t ready, or they are nervous about meeting new people. With this generation being on their phone most of the time, people are more worried about what is going on the phone than other people. Levels of anxiety have risen since the smartphone came out. I’m not saying phones are the biggest reason for this, but technology is definitely part of it. Having access to technology can be a blessing. We have knowledge at the tip of our fingers, but just like everything else, we need to be careful.

Having this technology can also lead to bad stuff. Sometimes we can't realize that we are going down Satan’s rabbit hole of doom. It's almost as if someone doesn’t want us to succeed or have families. Satan throws other things in our face that can distract us from what is truly important. He can make things seem very significant; technology, money, house, a good job. These are only essential for this life, not for eternity. We need to learn and grow, but not just focus on that. 

What matters most? Families are what we need, but people are losing that idea. What can we do to keep families at the center? Well, the first, in my opinion, is to reduce our time on technology. This can help us become more confident, and willing to learn. Kids shouldn’t have smartphones at young ages, it kills their confidence too early. We desperately need to require them to socialize. Look in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, they were able to go on dates, and go to dances with ease. They were able to plan fun dates, they knew how to actually dance. Today’s generation and the ones coming up may not be able to do these things. 

Maybe part of the issue is that many people really don’t know how to plan good dates. Possibly the media has pushed the happily ever after thing too much, that there is only one for everyone. We shouldn’t wait to be ready. We shouldn’t wait to have enough money or stable jobs. Furthermore, we need to listen to what, when, who the Spirit tells us. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and to have families. We should try to always listen to him.