A Christ Centered Relationship

I attended a meeting recently where one of the speakers, a marriage and family therapist from BYU, spoke on having a Christ centered marriage.  It was an amazing presentation.  A true/false checklist was handed out for each of us to assess how Christ centered our own marriages are.  It was divided into two sections:  doctrine and actions.

Doctrine:
1)  I believe eternal marriage between man and woman is ordained, or set up and sanctified by our Father in Heaven.
2)  I believe eternal marriage is possible for every son and daughter of God, and is a promised blessing to everyone that is faithful to God's commandments.
3)  I belive I can have an eternal marriage that brings joy to both spouses.
4)  I believe woman and man were divinely created to complete and complement each other.
5)  I belive that no earthly struggle, trial, disability, or injustice can prevent a person from receiving eternal marriage if he/she trusts in the Lord and keeps His commandments.
6)  I believe in the principle of being equal partners in marriages.

Actions:
7)  I speak positively about marriage and the opposite sex.
8)  Those closest to me would see me as a defender of eternal marriage between a man and woman.
9)  My spouse would say that next to my relationship with my Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ, our marriage is my highest priority.
10)  My spouse would describe me as an equal partner, including parenting and domestic responsibilities.
11)  My spouse and I have regular scripture study, regular couple prayer, and attend the temple together.

The speaker also presented an image similar to the one below:

If you picture the man and woman in this picture, each becoming closer to Christ and rising up the sides of the triangle, they automatically become closer to one another as well.  This visual image solidified something in my mind that I realized I already knew.

I know there are many out there who probably find these words about marriage difficult to read.  Believe me when I say, I understand.  I lived through a very difficult marriage for 19 years.  I'm a happily married newlywed now, but I know that trials are inevitable, and if we both strive to become closer to the Savior, we can make it through the difficult times and come out closer in the end.