I just attended the wedding of my niece, Beng, and her new husband, PJ.

Beautiful wedding.

Beng is my lovely niece, the daughter of Pinkie and Abel–(Pinkie is my sister). I’m amazed how many common things bind them together.

· When PJ was 8-years-old, he saw Beng as a 6-year-old kid and liked her already. (My gosh, that was 19 years ago.)

· PJ is part of the choir of his church, while Beng is one of the singers of our music ministry.

· Both of them are very loving to their own parents—who nourished both of them with great amounts of love.

· Both are known by everyone as moral, upright, diligent, and wholesome. (To some people, that means “boring”. To me, that means wise.)

· Both of them love the Lord.

They say that when it comes to love, opposites attract.

I admit that it adds sizzle, no doubt.

Partners can differ on tastes—perhaps the woman loves Italian pasta but the man eats only adobo and paksiw. Partners can differ on the best way to spend their weekend—perhaps he likes mountain climbing but she likes answering sudoku at home. Partners can differ in personality—perhaps he likes to listen and she likes to talk.

All these differences are fine. They can complement each other.

But at the end of the day, it’s the COMMON things that will HELP hold a marriage together. Especially (1) common values, (2) common vision, and (3) common passions.

So I’m betting that Beng and PJ will grow old together.

If you’re married, and you want to strengthen your marriage, then CREATE common values, common vision, and common passions together. Work on them!

And if you’re not yet married, be sure to find someone who shares with you your values, vision, and passions.