Your marriage isn't just about happiness, and it's not just about you and your spouse. It's much more than that. Ultimately, your marriage is a tool God wants to use to draw you closer to Him. Whether or not your marriage makes you happy, it can make you holy. And it can bring glory to the source of all love - God Himself.

Here are some ways you can let your marriage draw you closer to God:

• Acknowledge hard realities. Realize that you and your spouse don't live in an idealized romantic world, but in a fallen, broken one. Be honest about the disappointments and selfishness that exist in your marriage. Don't be afraid to discover what your marriage reveals about your own attitudes and behavior. Seek to understand yourself and the ways you need to grow as you confront this information in your marriage.

• Understand that marriage is all about learning to love. Remember that marriage isn't eternal; it's merely an earthly relationship in which two people can learn how to love. Know that, while your marriage is temporary, your relationship with God is eternal. Strive to grow all you can through your marriage so you'll be able to love God more deeply. Realize that you can't truly love God unless you also love other people. Accept your spouse and practice acting in love toward him or her, no matter what.

• Let marriage teach you about God's relationship to His people. .Know that God loves us intimately and wants us to relate to Him out of love rather than fear. Understand that marriage is a picture of the commitment Christ has for His church. Realize that God wants you to pursue Him with passion, just as He pursues you. Know that God wants you to proclaim and model His ministry of reconciliation in your marriage by staying committed, forgiving each other, and loving each other selflessly and sacrificially.

• Learn to respect others through your marriage. Have contempt for contempt. Decide that you will honor your spouse because God wants you to do so - despite his or her flaws. Understand that all people are fallen, and if you can't respect your current spouse, you won't be able to respect any spouse. Seek to understand the challenges your spouse faces. Ask God to give you empathy for your spouse and compassion for his or her weaknesses.

• Use your marriage to build your prayer life. Let the intimacy you develop in your marriage relationship enrich the intimacy you share with God through prayer. As you overcome dissension and come together sexually, you acquire skills for building unity. Use those skills to deepen your prayer connection with God.

• Let your marriage help cleanse you. Allow your marriage to hold up a mirror of your sin to view. Let your marriage show you the unhealthy attitudes and character flaws that God wants to heal in you. Ask God to help you use this knowledge to become more humble and willing to grow. Confess and repent of the sins God shows you, trusting that He will help you grow.