Fireproof Movie Saved My Marriage and Opened My Eyes

Michelle is a dear friend who needed a blessing on her marriage. Michelle is also the name we have chosen to use to protect my dear friends identity, because while she has been blessed through the movie, she doesn't feel secure in airing her families secrets to everyone and laying herself completely bare for all to see. The following is her account told from her viewpoint to emphasize the power behind the message of "Fireproof".

My name is Michelle and I had been hearing about Fireproof for the better part of a year before I considered seeing it. Fireproof is a movie starring Kirk Cameron. It wasn't a major box office smash, yet all my friends were talking about it. They insisted I had to see it. It was the greatest thing to ever happen for their marriages. Even if you aren't having trouble, you have to see it they said.

I never read the book. I never made it to the theatre to see the movie. Maybe I just wanted to be in denial that I needed it. If I didn't watch it, then I could keep saying that everything was alright. Maybe my friends weren't as blind to the problems my marriage was facing as I had thought. I once thought that we had created the complete illusion of the happy couple, now I know better.

It wasn't until my husband and I started to face the very real option of divorce that I considered renting the movie, then out on DVD. Arguments and disagreements were quite commonplace with us but when he got close to packing his bags and leaving, I knew I had to change something. I knew I couldn't do it on my own anymore.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I put the movie in for the first time. I had tried, to no avail, to have him watch it with me. He just wouldn't do it. No movie was going to save our marriage. There was nothing there that could teach him anything because the problems we were having were my problems, not his.

So I watched alone. The whole time I ended up wishing that he had agreed to watch with me, but I knew that it was better for me to take action alone than to not do anything. It was as if the writers had eavesdropped on every conversation we had ever had. The arguments of the characters were so like the things that we fought about and they used almost the exact same words we did.

I watched the entire movie and learned so much about the other side and how men think and what they are going through. It opened my eyes up to the fact that I was not being grateful for what I had. I was taking my husband and our relationship for granted. Sometimes it is the little things that count. Sometimes it is best to overlook our grievances and show gratitude and thanks for what we do have.

It definitely made me aware of how little gratitude and thanks I show my husband for being who he is. There shouldn't always be an accounting and score-keeping for every thing we do and say. Retaliation is now a thing that I try to avoid. His hurtful words or deeds shouldn't warrant me giving the same back to him. Two wrongs definitely don't make a right.

I can't say that we don't still struggle to make our marriage work. It is not as if you can get married and totally neglect each others needs and still be successful at it. You must nurture and tend your relationship. I think that was one of our biggest mistakes was taking our relationship for granted. We are working on mending our past hurts and making our marriage more successful.

I am sure without the guidance I received and the revelation I got from watching Fireproof, we would have ended our marriage without ever really trying to do what would work to make our marriage a true partnership. We are successfully on the road to a healthier relationship.

Authors Note: My friend "Michelle" and her husband have made changes that have brought them closer to each other and they are visibly more interested in nurturing and growing as a couple. While we don't hold them up as an ideal couple, we regard them as an inspiration to all who seek the answer to the question, "Can this marriage be saved?" And we reply with a very loud and enthusiastic, "Yes, it can!"

Resources

Fireproof The Website

40 Day Love Dare Website