Slat Grobnik, a seller of Christmas trees, was observing a couple who was looking for a tree. The husband was slim and his wife was quite attractive, but they wore clothes that seemed to be bought from the Salvation Army. After passing by several very expensive Christmas trees, they found a pine Scotch tree which was quite OK on one side but had not so many leaves on the other side. They took another tree which was not in a better condition than the previous trees because one of its sides did not have many leaves. The wife whispered to her husband, and the husband asked if both trees could be bought at the price of $3. Slat realized that it would be difficult for him to sell those trees, so finally, he agreed to sell them both for $3. 

A few days later Slat was walking when he saw a beautiful tree in the couple’s apartment. The tree was full and the shape was good. He knocked on the door and the couple explained how they had tied the two trees together with the bare sides touching. The branches of the trees crossed over one another making the trees appear as one. 

“So that is your secret,” exclaimed Slat, “You just took two imperfect trees with flaws that could have been discarded because no one would accept them. But united in the right way, you produced something so beautiful.”

The same goes for a marriage. We could not find a perfect husband or wife. Every one of us has so many imperfections. However, when we can complement and support each other and accept our spouse’s imperfections, we can have a beautiful marriage. 

Prayer: Lord, teach us to accept our spouse’s flaws and help us to complement each other in the family. Amen.