What is worse than one's parents publicly announcing their divorce on prime time television?
...One's parents again publicly announcing their divorce on prime time television in an encore presentation the following night.
I penned this post last week about Mr. and Mrs. Family o' Ten. If you have been within a mile of the Internet or television within the last 24 hours, than you have heard of this family's demise, most likely through well-produced television "teases" which promoted their big announcement.
When I was in grad school, the infamous one-night game show (was it a gameshow???) "Who wants to Marry a Millionaire" aired. I remember watching it from my tiny apartment while on the phone with my mother. We both kept saying, "Surely this is not real. Surely they aren't actually going to marry." As we all know, they did marry. And it was not real (at least the "millionaire" part was not real).
And they dissolved their marriage a few weeks later.
That show really expressed the sentiment of "Who cares about the sacredness of marriage when there is money to be made?"
Cable television again threw out such a sentiment last night as millions watched a couple publicly announce their divorce on television. Their children's friends, classmates, potential spouses and college roommates likely watched or heard about it. The children themselves will one day be able to see their father look directly into the camera and say he is excited about this new chapter in his life and listen to their mother say "the show must go on.".
But, the kids got $3,000 playhouses and some more new clothes from Gymboree, so that should ease the sting of now being labeled as "children from a broken ($1.1 million) home."
Here are some interesting links regarding this debacle:
*Kate's brother and sister-in-law speak out again in attempt to protect the children
*Look! A whole month and 1/2 break on filming for everyone to "recover" from the break-up of a family. How thoughtful!
*Blog post from Aunt Jodi's sister put out before yesterday's announcement.
*A bit of Christian perspective amidst the hype.
*Recap of last night's show
*Just a reminder of why that little thing called "marriage" is so incredibly important to a family unit.
Big. Ol. Sigh.
To perk this post up just a bit, what is the best piece of marital advice you have ever been given?
I'll share mine later this week.
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3 comments:
My freshman year of college included the mandatory Western Civ class. Dr. Klein was a professor whose features screamed nerd, but whose personality was like a magnet. We students hung on his every word as he shared the stories of history, making it come alive. Who would have ever guessed he would provide the most useful marriage advice in all my four years at a Christian institution of higher learning?
He started by saying, "My beautiful wife is not a pretty sight in the mornings." The comment prompted a few snickers in the class. He followed by saying, "in fact, some mornings I look at her and FEEL no love." What? That got our attention. He finished by telling us that there are many times in a marriage when you will look at your spouse and not FEEL love towards him/her. But, love is not a feeling. Love is a decision. Sure, you have moments where your heart swells in response to your love, but just as quickly our head can swell when we are frustrated at the person we love. If we measure our commitment based on emotion, we are doomed to failed relationships. Dr. Klein closed by saying, "if you remember that love is a decision, your marriage will last."
Wow! Aunt Jodi's sister really lays it all out there.
My husband and I have been married 24 yrs. and have 7 children. Marriage is hard work. Kids are needy. Life is tough. Days are long.
I can't imagine the added pressure of having cameras recording all our stuff! My heart hurts for this family. It seems clear that they have lost their way. The money is absolutely blinding them to what they have done to themselves.
Best marriage advice? God hates divorce. Don't do it. During the tough times, (and they will come) that might be all that gets you through.
I think the entire situation is tragic and although our culture is callous to divorce, I am not and neither are thier kids. I really hope that God is able to turn this siuation into something else. I hope they end up turning to Him publicly and he heals their family in whatever way is best. I just hurt for those kids.
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