The “Secret” to a Successful Marriage

Talk shows discuss it.

Researchers study it.

Too many articles and books to count have been written about it.

I even chime in on this blog from time to time with my thoughts on it.

What’s the it I’m talking about?

It’s the secret to a happy and successful marriage.

There are a lot of practical steps couples can take to build a healthy relationship. Hopefully, you’ve learned some solid advice right here at Focus from our radio programs, periodicals, and other materials we offer.

Our guests on today’s program, James and Betty Robison, hosts of the Christian television program, “Life Today,” affirm a truth we wholeheartedly believe in: the most crucial “secret” of them all is God’s grace.

And their marriage has certainly been a testament to that truth.

If James’ early life is any indication, his chances of ever enjoying a successful marriage were practically nil. The odds were stacked against him.

He was the product of rape and would have been aborted had it not been for a doctor who refused to perform the abortion. Years later, his alcoholic and abusive father nearly killed James’ mother and threatened to kill him. As James tells it, the only thing that saved his life was the rifle he pointed at his dad, pledging to shoot if his dad so much as twitched a finger.

There are elements of James’ story that hit pretty close to home for me. I was nearly aborted myself, and I’ve talked about the troubled history I’ve had with the father figures in my life.

James and I will both tell you that a childhood filled with that level of turmoil is not a great foundation for building a marriage. Quite the contrary: It’s been the downfall for many couples.

And it might have been for James and Betty, too. But everything changed the day, as he expresses it, “I put my hand in the pastor’s, and my life in the Master’s.”

I invite you to tune in to today and tomorrow’s broadcast, “The Robisons: Fifty Years of Love” to hear James and Betty’s full story. You’ll be inspired and encouraged, and I believe you’ll walk away reminded that God’s grace really is the “secret” to sustaining your love and marriage through the years.

As always, join us on your local radio station. Or hear their story anytime online or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app.