Keeping the Chase Alive:
Practical Ways to Energize Your Marriage
Teena M. Stewart
A waiter ushered an elderly couple to a booth in a res-
taurant. The woman scooted over so her husband could sit
alongside her and view the television screen on the oppo-
site wall. But rather than take the seat she offered, he
winked at her and plopped down across from his wife.
“I’d rather look at you,” he
said.
His wife’s face glowed as
she returned his smile. The brief
exchange revealed volumes
about their relationship. They
knew how to keep romance
alive!
Prince Charming and
Cinderella Meet Reality
Movies, TV and books help
shape our idea of romance. The
characters in the stories are often
beautiful. A 5’ 9", 105-pound
woman wears a gorgeous evening gown on an intimate
date with her tall, dark and handsome boyfriend. He’s
rented their favorite restaurant for a candlelit dinner
for two. It’s the stuff from which dreams are made. Un-
fortunately, that’s exactly what it is, a dream. Holly-
wood has influenced our ideas of romance. Is it any
wonder that after the wedding vows, couples have dif-
ficulty reconciling their preconceived notion of ro-
mance with reality?
When Cinderella and Prince Charming married,
did they realize what lay ahead of them? Ever after is a
very long time. What happened when they woke up the
morning after their nuptials with their hair sticking out
at odd angles and breath that could knock an elephant
over? Did their romance die on the vine?
On a TV game show, a celebrity guest caustically
remarked that marriage meant the chase was over.
Glamorous Zsa-Zsa Gabor
quickly retorted, “Nonsense
Dahling. Zee chase isn’t over,
it’s just begeeening.”
Zsa-Zsa was right. Once
you tie the knot it doesn’t mean
you no longer need to charm
your mate. Before my husband
and I married we were nauseat-
ingly romantic, writing endear-
ing, syrupy notes to each other,
holding hands, and calling each
other pet names. But when we
said, “I do,” we assumed we no
longer needed to impress the
other person. Slowly, we dropped our guard. The posi-
tive result was we became more genuine with each
other and we could let our “warts” show. The down-
side meant we knew each other so well there weren’t
-1-
Woman to Woman
Vol. 4, No. 3
“And ye are complete in him.” Colossians 2:10
May/June 2001
Our Mission Statement: Believing that we can find
completeness in all areas of our lives only “in him, who
is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians
2:10), it is the mission of Hearth to Hearth to provide a
forum for Christian women to reach out to each other in
friendship, with joy and hope; and to encourage each
other to find our completeness in Christ as we sojourn
here on our way to the kingdom.
(Continued on page 4)
