In order to have a happy family, you must have a happy marriage. When there is disunity and discord between the parents, it is not a happy home.
I have seen happy homes where the parents are crazy about each other. There is peace and unity. It permeates the whole home. The children are happy since the parents are so happy.
You can have a good home without a happy marriage. I was raised in a good home and so were my children. The parents stayed married. The dad worked hard to provide. The mother was a stay-at-home mom who took good care of her family. The family was in church every Sunday.
However, now we have a happy home and my children {all grown up now} can absolutely tell the difference. When there is conflict between the parents, the whole family feels it and suffers. They truly don't know what they are missing until the parents become happy with each other and the children then can sense the difference in the atmosphere of the home.
We didn't argue in front of the children so they didn't know we didn't get along. But you can't hide disunity. It is felt. When a husband and wife are smiling a lot at each other, enjoying each other, affectionate with each other, and loving each other, everyone wins.
Working at having a happy marriage benefits everyone, especially your children. Society benefits also, however, when they are modeled happy marriages which helps produce secure children. I can hardly remember any happy homes when I was growing up.
Our children deserve happy homes in this very unhappy world. Do what you can to have a happy marriage, thus creating a happy home. It is the best gift you can give them.
A merry heart doeth good like medicine.
Proverbs 17:22
***My beautiful niece just got married in France.
She was raised in a very happy family!
