Question: I am a nineteen-year-old girl and I'm still single. You have described some pretty depressing circumstances that can occur in marriage. If that's the way it is, why should I bother to get married at all?
Answer: The depressing problems we've been examining represent the worst in married life; perhaps we have not spent enough time reviewing the more positive aspects. I can tell you from a personal point of view that my marriage to Shirley is the best thing that ever happened to me, and there are millions who can offer a similar testimony. You see, life involves problems no matter what your choices are; if you remain single, your frustrations will be of a different nature but they will occur, nevertheless. As to whether you should get married or not, I would offer you the same advice given me when I was an eight-year-old child, by a Sunday school teacher whose name I don't even remember: "Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry the person you think you can't live without...if such an individual ever comes along." Either way, I think you're ahead by knowing in advance that married life offers no panacea--that if it is going to reach the potential, it will require an all-out investment by both husband and wife.
What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew About Women
By Dr. James Dobson