The late Ruth Bell Graham, wife of The Reverend Billy Graham for more than 60 years, said: “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”

[Perhaps practicing forgiveness is the key to any successful relationship. In fact, can there be real love without forgiveness? -the Editor]

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“Three small words can change everything. ‘I forgive you.’ It’s easier than you think.” - from LoveandForgive.org

“Forgiveness means letting go of the past.”

- Gerald Jampolsky

“Criticism and judgment draw misery upon oneself.”

- Zhuang Zi

“If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”

- Mother Teresa

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“Marriage, like everything else, can used by either the ego or the Holy Spirit. Its content is never predetermined. It is a living organism that reflects the continuous choices of the individuals involved.”

“An enlightened marriage is a commitment to participate in the process of mutual growth and forgiveness….”

“A partner’s support and forgiveness enable us to stand forth more magnificently in the world.”

- Marianne Williamson, from “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles”

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“I first learned the concepts of non-violence in my marriage.”

- Mohandas K. Gandhi

“Reconciliation is more beautiful than victory.”

- Violeta Barrios de Chamorro

 “Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.”

- Hannah Arendt

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More from author and lecturer Marianne Williamson, in Everyday Grace:

Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, and Making Miracles, speaking of spiritual growth

and arguing:

“According to A Course in Miracles,

our job is to tell someone they’re right even when they’re wrong.

That doesn’t mean we’re suppose to lie. It does mean, however, that

…it's always our mission to affirm someone's humanity, even when

we're disagreeing with his or her perceptions. Our spiritual challenge

in any situation is first to recognize a person's love and innocence, and

then to speak from that perspective. For it is not our disagreements that

wound; it is the criticism, attack, and blame that wound. Until we know

that we are solidly on loving ground—past the temptation to even subtly blame—

we had best be very careful with what we say and how we say it. Some words

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[Bridal Couple images above by Julie Mikos]