For better, for worse

Can't you just see the beautiful bride and the adoring groom gazing into each others' eyes:

Will you love him/her, comfort him/her, honor and keep him/her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for WORSE, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?

Worse is a word I glossed over when I got married. It means, "Further from standard; less desirable or satisfactory." Now when I hear worse I think of "something bad, something undesirable." Is that what you think of? What does worse mean to you? When many of us decide to get married do we just think of the better and assume there won't be the worse? I know I wasn't ready for anything but the better. When my husband and I got married I truly believed that we would live happily ever after just like all of the maidens in the fairy tales. Surprisingly (to me and I think my husband too) we didn't. We had A LOT of immaturity to work through. There were a lot of tears, screaming and fighting but by God's grace things are amazing now(for the moment). We constantly have to strive for positive communication but God is now our Rock.

Trials will still come for my marriage and for others. How will we choose to respond?

What is God's example in our relationship with Him? When things get worse (we betray him, ignore him, disrespect him or curse him) God stays right by our side. He doesn't pack His bags and say, "I didn't sign up for this." He is there for the long haul. I pray He gives us the strength to love like He loves us.

Joshua 1:5b I will not fail you or forsake you. NASB
see also Deut 31:6, 7 and Heb 13 for further study