Hurricane Marriages

By Ron Ross

The measure of your love is not defined while on a romantic cruise or after a quiet meal together. The measure of your love is revealed in the midst of the storms, floods, and earthquakes of married life.

The natural disasters we have watched on TV or experienced in our life are not what I refer to. I refer to the floods and storms of everyday living: the earthquakes of ill health, the hurricane of adultery, the storm of children gone bad, the blizzard of financial problems, and even the frequent nasty squalls of temper, rudeness, anxiety, boredom, disappointment, failure, distrust, guilt, shame, and more.

What do you do after a natural disaster or a common storm? If a hurricane blows off your roof, you fix it. If the flood fills your basement with water, you clean it out. If the wind knocks out a window, you replace the glass.

What do you do after life’s storms? Do you sit around and curse the old lady for her stupid mistake? Do you ignore the shattered ego of your husband? Do you scream at your children and blame everyone and everything around you and do nothing to right the wrong, fix the problem, or discover the issue at hand?

Yes, I know, it’s easier to fix a broken window than it is to restore a broken relationship. One takes a few bucks and an hour of effort. The other takes your heart and mind and almost always a willingness to seek or offer forgiveness.

Terrible hurricanes never apologize. No hailstorm ever fixed a roof. No flood ever cleaned a basement. But tornados and hailstorms and floods are not people.

Good people, honorable people, loving people, people like you fix broken relations – how? They fix themselves first. They take personal responsibility for whatever storm they started, whatever blizzard they began. They clean up their own mess first.

Bad weather comes into every relationship. But warm hearts, gentle words, and personal responsibility restores trust, rebuilds shattered bonds, and clears away clouds of doubt, disgust, and despair.


You are a good person. You want a good marriage. You want an emotionally healthy family. You can do your part to make it happen. 

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