Marriage? or Wedlock??

I was all excited that my wedding day was fixed, after all the usual family discussions & stuff, when a close relative called to congratulate me. But instead of congratulating, the sentence she told me was "...so, you are entering the wedlock too?" I felt bad she couldn't find any other words than "wedlock"! What a negative term, I thought. How rude! But then, this lady had a really locked up life ever since her marriage & I thought that might be the reason for her words. For me, marriage to this man I love so much, was totally bliss.
Then the wedding took place... and I found out that married life was totally different from what everyone expects it to be. I thought I was alone but soon found out that my hubby was going through the same dilemma as well! :) Yes, marriage is difficult but the people who decide to row their boat together & meet the waves no matter how bad it is... people who think they will help their partner take this boat to the shore, no matter how bad a rower the other person is... they get to the shore...without being hurt! I cannot & will not blame the many who had to row it all alone... lonely & tired. I don't know how difficult it is to row a boat, where the people row in different directions.
But we've realised how things work for us, how our life should be. Marriage being God-centric is the best option (that which works for everyone)!
Well, i get calls from friends about shattered family lives... mostly girl friends, and some guys. Yesterday, a friend called and I didn't know what to tell her. So I prayed for her. She gave all she had to marry the man she so loved and now, he rarely notices her. He's always out with friends and there she returns home from work to an empty building. He doesn't even work & is full of ego. There's more to it but I don't want to describe all of it. Loneliness, hurt, helplessness, insecurity, what not? Money is all people care for! Is there anyone who thinks that there will be a time in life where money won't be able to buy anything but then it will be too late to realise they can't buy love either!
And then, I thought of that relative of mine. A lady, who was taught in the best of schools & colleges. A lady, who had so much caliber but was forced to put it all away as her husband was another egoistic male. She eventually became a woman surrounded by just the four walls of her house- no visiting her family, no relatives (her's), no functions (in her family)... just the husband & her kids & his family! But, she adjusted, she became all that he wanted... for which she had to sacrifice every bit of her own self. Her very words describe her locked up feelings. Her husband got his life & her's too. She got nothing! I respect her now, though she's no more attached to anyone in our family. I slowly realise the depths of what she must be going through. I respect her but not her decision. But I am no one to question it either.
Well, I also realise how blessed I am to have a husband like mine! There are short comings, there are problems... but in the end, I love him & he loves me! ...And that is all that matters!!! :)