Craig & Alaina Houtz say, “I didn’t deal with situations well, and I came from a family that really didn’t, that was one of my biggest doubts.”

Alaina is describing the concerns she had about getting married, in light of her parents’ divorce. But she decided to be proactive – talking through a lot of her struggles with a counselor, before she even met future husband Craig.

Craig says, “We talked extensively about her coming from a divorce background, and what that looks like for her. She really took care of a lot of that before going into our relationship.”

That was a wise decision, because there are some common pitfalls that children of divorce need to address.

Dr. Juli Slattery – psychologist says, “They have sort of this fairy tale view that if I could just find the right guy or the right gal, then we’re not going to have the kind of conflict that will lead to divorce, instead of realizing that it’s really the commitment you make in your heart and your character that gets you through that conflict.”

And learning how to work through conflict is essential to long-term marital success. Alaina and Craig have the right idea.

Craig says, “For us, communication is one of the biggest factors that keeps our marriage strong, and that we talk our problems out right away, we don’t just keep things bottled up inside.”

Marriage, like all relationships, involves hard work. But keeping a sense of humor helps too.

Craig and Alaina say, “As far as our marriage goes, we’re both committed to that until the end of the day! For a couple hours I guess, beyond that who knows! No I think we’re both very committed to a lifetime together I don’t like to think of it any other way, I just think, this is my life and this is how it always will be.

And that’s exactly the kind of iron-clad commitment that will relieve those doubts caused by a parents’ divorce – the kind of commitment that will last a lifetime.