How Committed Are You?

In your marriage, that never ending bathroom project or that role you decided to volunteer in...how committed are you? And what affects our level of commitment?

In our marriage, my husband and I joke with each other, saying we're stuck with one another. That may not seem all that romantic, but we get it and we mean it as a term of endearment. It certainly helps us feel secure that neither of us is going to bail out when the going gets tough, and the going does get tough sometimes. It's also our playful way of reminding each other we made this decision for life...there is no Plan B for us.

I can write that with confidence because, though the going has gotten tough, we've not encountered any make it or break it moments or fall-outs that have led us to seriously discuss Plan B.

So who are those people that remain committed even after one of those make it or break it fall-outs? What makes them stay?

Who are those that hardly ever have a project to do around the house because once they set their minds to it, the project is taken on full force and completed faster than a new American Idol takes center stage?

Who is it that has remained in a miserable job for over twenty years because they want to remain loyal and keep providing for family?

What is it about us that makes us stay committed to something? I remember Dr. Phil used to say something a decade ago about "pay off." What are we getting in return for our commitment?

It makes me also wonder if perhaps some people are just wired with more of a commitment threshold. Are some people just bent towards sticking it out, digging in with their heals and making the best of it?

Finally, this leads me to ask...when do we know the time has come to break a commitment? How can we tell our "time is up" with a project or even sadly, after a marriage has undergone a repeated adulterous affair?

I think for me I'm willing to remain committed if, through prayer, God has not made it absolutely clear I'm to sign off, I'm to quit.

Otherwise, I'm a fan of follow-through, a fan of loyalty even when it hurts or is uncomfortable.

Who said this life was about comfort anyway?