If there’s a bag of marshmallows in my house, I can pretty much guarantee you that it will be visited regularly by my children and husband. Me? I’m not a huge marshmallow fan, except where marriage is involved. You see, I want my marriage to be like a marshmallow! Not like a chocolate bar – they’re too messy, not like a cupcake – they get stale too quickly, and not like popcorn – too many hard kernels to avoid! Nope, I’ll take a marriage like a sweet, gooey marshmallow any day! Here’s why…
1. They’re sweet. For better or for worse, marshmallows are sweet. Your marriage should be too. The bottom line, marriage is about love. Not the butterflies in your stomach kind of love, but love that grows deeper over the years. The sweetness in marriage comes from the beauty of two people committing to each other and their life together.
2. They bounce back. If you squeeze a fresh, jumbo marshmallow, you’ll see how it puffs right back up. A good marriage is like that. It can take the pressures and challenges of life, and bounce back.
3. They’ve stood the test of time. The Egyptians are credited with creating marshmallow candy 2,000 years ago. But it was an American who, in 1948, tinkered with the process and came up with a way to make marshmallows less sticky. Marriage has also been around a long time, a really long time. Like marshmallows, new ideas have come along to help couples strengthen their marriages, but the basic ingredients of a good marriage—commitment, kindness, and love—have stayed the same.
4. They make people smile. Marshmallows. Bring out a bag and you’ll get a lot of smiles. A good marriage can bring out smiles too. Research shows that couples in strong marriages have better health and are more satisfied with life. Children whose parents have good marriages also benefit in better physical, mental, and emotional health.
5. They’re great hot. When we at iMOM were discussing how marriage is like a marshmallow, one of our younger, married, staff members gave us this idea—and she’s right! Most people like marshmallows best when they’re melted in s’mores or swimming in hot chocolate. Same with marriage; it’s those fiery bursts of romance and attraction that keep marriage interesting.
