Family Happiness/ KEYS TO FAMILY HAPPINESS

Making a Second Marriage Work

Herman:  "My first wife died of cancer after we had been married for 34 years.   When I remarried, my wife Linda felt that I was always comparing her to my first wife.  To make matters worse, old friends often talked about my late wife's fine qualities, and this  upset Linda."

Linda:  "After Herman and I married, I felt that I was living in the shadow of his first wife. She was so well-loved, soft-spoken, and refined. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be as close to him as she was."

Herman and Linda are happy that they found each other.  Linda who divorced her first husband, even calls Herman her "knight in shining armor."  Yet, as they acknowledge, a  second marriage may bring challenges that never existed in a first marriage.

If you have remarried, how do you feel about your second marriage? A  wife named Tamara, who remarried three years after her divorce, says:  "When you marry for the first time, there is that special feeling that your marriage will last forever.  But with a second marriage, you may not have that feeling, as you are always aware that your first marriage ended." 

Nevertheless, many couples have found deep and lasting  happiness after remarrying.  They made their marriage a success -and you can be successful too! How?  Consider three common challenges and how Bible principles can help you to meet them.

Next time: KEYS TO FAMILY HAPPINESS/Making a Second Marriage Work - CHALLENGE 1

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