The Marriage Garden

The book is organized into six lessons: 1. Commit: Make and honor promises. We start our gardens with great visions and bold enthusiasm, but if we are unwilling to deal with problems and differences, we will never enjoy a bountiful harvest. 2. Grow: Cultivate your strengths. If we don't nurture our personal strengths and abilities, we won't be well prepared to take on our gardening tasks. The most successful gardeners know they must invest time in reflection, learning and improvement. 3. Nurture: Do the work of loving. Marriage can grow from a handful of seeds to a garden filled with colorful, radiant life. We may need to increase the light of encouragement, the fertilizer of time spent together, and the water of kindness. 4. Understand: Cultivate compassion for your partner. At times we'll get sunburned, poked by thorns, and bitten by bugs. During difficult and painful times, we can be gardening partners who respond to each others pains rather than scold for not using sunscreen or being more careful. 5. Solve: Turn differences into blessings. We may have very different visions. If we choose to stay calm, listen attentively, understand our partner's view, and use creativity, it's possible to turn differences into strengths. 6. Serve: Give back to your community. Just as you might share your tomatoes and zucchini with neighbors, our marriages are strengthened by sharing our time and resources to make our whole world blossom.