Focus On The Big Picture
by T.W. Winslow

With every marriage license issued, there should also be given two sets of seat belts - for one thing's certain, it's going to be a bumpy ride. 

No matter how much in love we are or how hard we work at our relationships, there will be those times when things go wrong - it's just a fact of life. 

There are many ways in which to effectively deal with times of difficulty in our lives and relationships, but one particularly helpful means of weathering the storm, so to speak, is by focusing on the big picture. 

So often we become completely consumed by a problem or issue that we begin to lose perspective. When we allow this to happen, we run the risk of letting the problem take over our lives. Think of it as a man jumping into the ocean, but rather than looking up and making his way back to the surface, he becomes disoriented. Everywhere he looks there's just more water. He begins to panic, and the fear of drowning only heightens his anxiety, further complicating his predicament. A sense of hopelessness consumes him as he thrashes about, and soon, with his strength and breath now gone, he surrenders himself to the sea. 

That's a pretty dramatic analogy, but it helps to illustrate my point. We, like the drowning man, can become so consumed with a problem that panic and hopelessness sets in, making it difficult to see anything outside of the circumstance itself. In these times, if we can take a step back and focus our minds on the big picture, suddenly whatever difficulty we're faced with or obstacle we're attempting to overcome, seems much less ominous. 

Had the drowning man applied this principle, he may have been able to see past his fear and find a simple solution to his predicament. 

When we encounter problems in a marriage, the same holds true - looking past the immediate difficulty and focusing on the big picture can make all the difference in the world. In doing so, we remember what the marriage really means to us, all the love and good that comes from it, and what we're ultimately working towards. This not only gives us the proper perspective and clarity of mind to better deal with whatever problem we face, but also provides us with the strength and courage to weather the storm. 

Focus on the big picture and see these problems for what they really are - not hopeless situations which have no end, but just bumps in the long road of marriage. 

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