Throughout the week, we learnt about how to prepare for marriage. We learnt that, marriage is God’s ordained institution for the man and woman who must leave their families to bind together to mutually complete each other. It also serves as grounds for reproduction.

In preparing for marriage, we learnt of the spiritual preparation which includes desiring ourselves in the Lord, seeking the face of God so that we can know His plans and work on our weaknesses. It also includes living in purity and seeking God through His word for a successful marriage. We also learnt of physical preparations before marriage. This, we understood, included having a work to do to provide income for the upkeep of the home, being able to perform household chores, reading Christian literature on marriage and conducting basic medical tests to assess our health.

Psychological and emotional preparations are also important in marriage. One must be able to accept the partner and the family as well. We must also learn to show emotional maturity before we marry.

In getting married, the choice of a partner is critical. And so we must learn to choose someone who fears and loves God. We must seek God’s face and the counsel of elderly people who are Godly to be able to choose well. We also learnt of the importance of premarital counselling, knowing that it helps us to take away unrealistic expectations, understand our roles in marriage, to overcome sexual temptation during courtship and to identify ‘red flags’ and find ways to overcome them.