Teen Pregnancy Information Center

Related Articles:
Marriage & Love Premarital Checklist
Good Relationships
Red Flags
Cohabitation
Sex
Birth Control
Money
Statistics

Related Links:
Marriage Builders
Marriage Support

Fighting the Odds: Before You Marry

Are you a girlfriend or boyfriend trying to see if marriage might be right for you? You might want to take the time to consider these questions:

Are you ready to spend the rest of your life with this person?
Would you give your life to this person?
Do you love this person unselfishly?
Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be with someone else?
Can you see yourself happy with this person when you are 80 years old?

You have to decide how serious you are about this. And you have to understand what you specifically are up against. There isn't a way to look at everything or to really know for sure how you will feel or how your partner will feel. But there are usually signs that let you know what you're headed for.

Are you really ready to go through thick and thin for and with this person?

Everyone has their baggage - you need to decide if your combined baggage is too much. It's as if your emotional maturity and family support are the foundation. If that foundation can't handle the weight of your marriage commitment then it will crumble and your new life will end in divorce.

If you're both willing to give 150% then you can make things work. Through bad times and good you will strengthen and uplift each other. Even when you are fighting, you will still know that you love each other. Do you know that now?

Think about this stuff for a while. Pray about it. Try to see past the moment and imagine the future you are choosing. Is it something you want? Is it right? Will it last? Can you count on yourself to be faithful? Can you count on your partner to be faithful?

I strongly recommend premarital counseling. Why? Because that can give you and your partner a much better idea of what hurdles you will have to get through together and teach you to have a good foundation to put your marriage on. If you can't make it through premarital counseling, then odds are you are not ready to get married. Getting married for the baby is not enough to make things work. You need so much more than that. If that is your main reason, then take a step back before you compound one mistake with another one that could turn out to be one of the biggest you'll make.

Nothing is foolproof but it is much better to go into this with your eyes open and your heart strengthened. If you want to compare just how compatible your vision of the future is with your partner's, take a look at this Premarital Checklist.