Marriage Brings More Family

There are a lot of really amazing things that marriage can bring into your life. I could go on and on about the blessings that I have received because of my own marriage. It is definitely something to look forward to and desire. Marriage also brings challenges along with blessings.

One of the greatest blessings that marriage brings is an addition of more family members. You attain another set of parents, more siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, more grandparents, and nieces and nephews. It is fantastic and also a little overwhelming!

Before marriage you only have to worry about loving the people who have always been there for you throughout your life. Once you are married, you have an entirely different family to love and look out for.

Media has portrayed in-laws as unbearable and difficult to get along with and in some cases, that may be true. I have friends who have stated how they have no clue how their husbands came from such crazy families. Not only do you gain a new family but your husband gains your family as well. Gaining more family members is a challenge and for some it can be one of the more difficult parts of marriage.

Up until the point of marriage, you have been raised in only one type of family. Attaining new family members brings new traditions and a variety of new opinions.

Who do you share holidays with? Who do you visit most often? Which grandparents get to spend birthdays with your children? And on top of all of these questions, what traditions do you decide to start with your own intermediate family?

All of these questions need to be discussed between the husband and the wife. What it all comes down to is, how do you learn to love an entirely new family?

Here is a video that shares a story of what love should be towards parents and in-laws.
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-10-002-families-sacrifice-give-love?category=topics/love&lang=eng

Once newly married, it is easy to love your spouse but it may not be the same for his family. Finding love for new family members can be extremely challenging for some, but as you learn to truly love them you will feel a change of heart and become closer to your Savior, Jesus Christ.

Pray for your new family members, pray for their well-being, pray for them individually, and pray that you will achieve Christlike love towards them. I know that as you do so you will begin to feel your heart soften towards them. We are commanded to love all men and that should include all of our family members, even our newly added family members.