I Do.

Dreams and plans for the future smashed in a single word - divorce. "My parents are getting divorced, so I can't take the softball scholarship I was offered," she said. A young girl caught in the path of a marital storm.

I felt bad I'd asked and even worse that there was nothing I could do to help.

I do not know the situation in this family and I do not cast judgement on them or their decision, I only take it for the grim reminder that it is. The course of this girl's life is forever changed now that she will attend a different college, live at home and commute to community college, give up her college softball ambitions. The state of her parent's marital health altered the course of her life.

Once that family was a young couple just starting out, happy and hopeful. Once they were proud parents of a newborn, then another, then another. Happy to hold their kids, take them to the beach, help with homework, coach a softball team. And then, divorce. They probably couldn't even pinpoint when the split started, only that it resulted in a garish, gaping wound that will never heal. The scary thing is, my story started out this way too.

Hold tight to your loved one. Devote yourself to their happiness. Give everything to making your home happy and healthy and in turn, give your children the greatest gift there is-  a healthy marriage, shored up and prepared for the hard times, fully engaged in the good times, loving and laughing and living life together.

It's overwhelming to see that how I live my life can so deeply and lastingly impact my children. With that knowledge comes responsibility.

Love the one you're with.