Marriage is very important to me. It's one of the biggest decisions that a person can possibly make in their life, and therefore it must be considered
extremely carefully.
My ultimate desire is to marry a girl and stay faithful to her for the rest of my life. I believe deeply in the marriage vow: "I will love you and honor you all the days of my life ... until death do us part". But to be able to take that vow seriously, I must know and understand myself and my partner very intimately indeed. I want to spend many years getting to know her, first just as a friend, and then as a girlfriend. I'll ask myself: "Do I sincerely believe I can spend the next 50 years married to this girl, no matter what might happen?" When I'm absolutely 100% convinced that I can take the vow sincerely, I can propose marriage. If I never reach 100%, then I can't marry her. And once I'm married, I will honor the vow with my life. No matter what temptation comes my way, I've sworn to be faithful to my wife. It's the most wonderful union in which two people can exist. My parents have been married for 40 years, and it's a real inspiration to see their marriage so healthy and long-lasting.
(Because I hold the marriage vows so deeply, I also believe that a deep and stable marriage is the only environment in which children should be born and raised. However, this is a highly debatable topic, and I don't wish to start such a debate here. Our
Controversial - Up for Debate forum is more appropriate for this.)