I’m always excited when I receive an email about an opportunity to review a new book. Most of my excitement is because I get to read a new book (if you’re a bibliophile like me then you’ll understand this). However, some of my excitement is because I didn’t choose the book—it’s often a book that I would not have picked up on my own! This means I get to read something that may present a new perspective or challenge my way of thinking.
This is the case with the book I just read. Your Marriage Today…And Tomorrow by Crawford and Karen Loritts doesn’t have a particularly catchy title or a fancy cover. It doesn’t address a specific marital problem, nor does it offer five easy steps to improve your marriage. If I came across this book at the library or in a bookstore, I doubt I would have picked it up. Given this, I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. I certainly didn’t expect to feel convicted several times as I read through it! I did, though, and this is a good thing.
The Lorittses make the case that marriage is about now and about the future. I think most of us would agree with them because we assume that by “the future” they mean during our lifetimes. What they’re truly saying is that marriage isn’t just about us but that it’s also about future generations. They believe that “…marriage is the sacred conduit by which God’s plan and purposes are passed on from one generation to the next” (p. 18-19).
Against the backdrop of this idea, the Lorittses provide a lot of wisdom for building strong marriages. They provide several guidelines that they refer to as “banks.” Just as the banks of a river keep the water moving in a particular direction, these banks should keep a marriage moving in the right direction. Based on my experience with my own marriage, these guidelines seem sound.
The Lorittses also describe habits that transform a marriage, gifts that every wife needs, gifts that every husband needs, and how imperfect people can resolve conflict. They provide a lot of examples as they address these topics and their advice includes practical steps that we can take to make our marriages stronger.
Despite these strong points, there are a couple of things I would have liked to read in this book. First, I would have loved to hear more from Karen’s perspective. Though the authors say in the introduction that they coauthored the book and that when they say “I” it represents both of them, I find this hard to believe. It reads as though it was written predominately from Crawford’s perspective. There’s nothing wrong with him writing a book on marriage, but I was expecting an equal amount of insight from both spouses given they say they coauthored the book.
Second, I would like for the authors to have briefly addressed the topics of single parents and childless couples. I realize that this is a book about marriage, but they really emphasize how our marriages pass along God’s plan and purposes to our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so forth. The reality is that in our society many children don’t have married parents and an increasing number of couples don’t have children. It would be interesting to hear a few insights on these situations from the authors.
Overall, Your Marriage Today…And Tomorrow is an interesting and insightful read. As I noted earlier, there were a couple of points made by the authors that really struck me. I felt convicted and have taken steps that will hopefully improve my marriage. Given this outcome, I’d say it was a valuable book for me to read!
It’s a pretty short book (just 151 pages), so it won’t take you very long to read. It would be okay for newlyweds, but I think it would be most beneficial for couples who have made it through the newlywed phase, have kids, and need inspiration and encouragement for the marathon that remains before them.
In what ways have you seen your marriage impact your kids and grandkids (if you have them)? What things have you been doing recently to strengthen your marriage?
A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
