Monday, May 26, 2008

Staggering Statistic

75% of marriages in which at least one spouse is afflicted with chronic illness ends in divorce.

This statistic just rocks my little world! If you or your spouse live with an illness it's easy to see why the divorce rate is incredibly high. Chronic illness places additional struggles on any marriage, no matter how strong your faith.

On the other hand, what makes the other 25% stay together? What makes their marriage stronger? I'm so blessed to be married to a wonderful man who loves God, loves me, and loves our children. But I would be willing to bet a portion of the 75% marriages who ended in divorce said the same thing at one point. When chronic illness shows up it changes everything, but there are marriages out there who are made stronger by illness.

Here's where we can learn from each other, what keeps your marriage together? What keeps your marriage strong? Even with chronic illness as part of your marriage, what keeps you two strong?

I will share my thoughts later, but for now I would love to hear from you. Email me your thoughts or post a comment to this post. If you've never posted a comment, just click on "Comment" and you can leave your name or comment anonymously if you'd like. Share your thoughts on keeping a strong marriage in the midst of chronic illness. Thanks for sharing!

Blessings for a strong marriage,
Kristen

7 comments:

Joyfulsister said...

Hi Kristen (( Hugz)) Chronic illnesses can either break or make a marriage. The choice all boils down to commitment and trust. Taken your vows that you spoke at your wedding and now putting them into action during these times of testings. I too have a husband who chooses to honor those vows and so do I. we both suffer from chronic illnesses, and if not for our faith in the good Lord above, and in our Love and trust for each other we could easily become one of those statistics. But most of all the power fo prayer is the glue in our marriage that keeps us falling apart and giving up. We chose to fight and not to give up, to not only bless, but be a blessing to one another. I love this post my sistah.. A reminder of how blessed we really are. Hugz Lorie

Kristen Reyna said...

Hi Lorie!
I could just "ditto" your comments. Making the choice, choosing to make it work, choosing to put God first is what holds mine together. Love is a choice and a blessing. When the going gets tough, whether through chronic illness or other struggles, we have to choose to make it work. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Love ya sistah!
Kristen

Joyfulsister said...

Amen.. I looked back on what I wrote. it was late at night lol I meant to sat that prayer is the glue in our marriage that keeps us "from" falling apart. HUgz Sistah!!

Unknown said...

Unfortunately, I am part of the 75% that end in divorce. Your committment and marriage are an inspiration to many.

Kristen Reyna said...

Marriage with chronic illness is difficult for so many. Thanks for leaving me your thoughts. I enjoy your blog!
Blessings,
Kristen

Anonymous said...

75% - that is really depressing. I don't know what makes a marriage last when one partner has a chronic disabling disease. Commitment and love is probably too easy an answer. There also has to be open communication, understanding and acceptance of the other for what she or he is, in my opinion. Carol and I have been married for 30 years now and seven years ago my CIDP started. It's a progressive variant and treatment has not been very successful. I am now in a power chair all day. Carol has to do practically everything around the house and outside. There isn't much we can do together anymore. I know this is very tough for her but I have not seen any deterioration of our relationship. We simply love each other dearly, we talk to each other, share our frustrations and get angry at each other occasionally. We finally got a handicapped accessible car and are able to go places together which does help a lot.

Kristen Reyna said...

Norbert,
It's great to hear about marriages like yours and Carol's. What a great example of love and commitment! I'm sure your accessible car makes life much easier for you and it's great you and your wife can get out and do things together. Thanks for leaving me a comment. It's such a blessing to hear from others with CIDP. We're all in this together! Hope to hear from you again soon.
Blessings,
Kristen