Difference Between Relationships, Dating, Wedding & Marriage.

Many times when I think about marriage I just have to stop thinking much about it and wait patiently for the perfect time to come. Relationships, dating, courtship, and marriage, are similar but they serve different purposes. Marriage is the core of it all.

Those engaging in some kind of relationship, be it a friendly relationship might as well aim towards getting married to each other. There are times when people get married due to family relationships too.

When it comes to dating, some people appreciate going out on dates with their partner, learning more about them, and if it works out well they get married along the line.

Courtship also has a similar purpose but on a more serious note than the first two. In courtship, you have a fiancée as your partner. And this mostly leads to marriage.

What’s Marriage?

Marriage itself is the union of two different people, from different backgrounds, different upbringings, different cultures, and different personalities, coming together as husband and wife, ready to put on the responsibility of becoming parents, and also live the rest of their lives as couples.

Marriage matters a lot as it is a once-a-lifetime choice we have to make. A wrong decision in the beginning and you might never find it easy to right the wrong again. But the right choice and decision would remain for a lifetime.

I remembered a time I got into a relationship with a girl. I don't know how my mum got to know about us. But I realized she sensed I was in one with her. We were friends initially, but with time Mum called me and asked me to let go of her. I wasn’t pleased with her decision, but I had to do it.

After which she advised me that marriage is not only about yourselves alone. But what's the type of family you're getting to deal with? I was still young then, but as I grew I realized what she meant then.

I have been to many homes and lived with different families. One thing I was sure about in all these homes I have been to was that there is no perfect marriage. No perfect marriage even from the home where I came from.

There are a lot of times when there would be misunderstandings among our parents, but it would all get sorted out with understanding again. Same thing with other homes, they settle disputes, they misunderstand, they disagree, and they keep malice, but what is common is the fact that they sort it out amicably among themselves.

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I am not in any relationship at the moment, not ready for one yet. Because I don't believein the mentality of dating over years or counting years of relationships together. It's not really about that, but it's all about how far you guys can go in your marriage. Marriage is a different phase on its own and cannot be compared to dating or being in a relationships.

There are a lot of broken homes today, a lot of divorces, and many couples can’t withstand the art of marriage. This is because most of us nowadays don’t prepare for what’s important, but we prepare for the less important.

Marriage is different from a wedding. A wedding is just for a day, while marriage is for a lifetime. So I feel we should be less bothered about that one-day event and focus more on the lifetime event.

People will come around and celebrate with you on that once-a-lifetime event, but they will leave you that day to face the rest of your lifetime.

In conclusion, I feel the need for marriage counseling among youths nowadays. We should know the differences between dating, relationships, courtship, wedding, and marriage.

Not all relationships lead to a fruitful marriage, and wedding ceremonies are far different from the reality in marriages, as we should know there is no perfect marriage and there is no perfect family.

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This is my response to the #Aprilinleo prompt for April. To join you can click Here

Header image from Pixabay; Image 2 from Pixabay