This week I heard a presentation about the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. The speaker described cases he had worked on in which the client had been heavily subsidized in order to make a career possible. One involved high end prosthetic legs, which were better than the person would be able to get with insurance alone. Another time a client needed a job coach to accompany him to the job. At first the coach did most of the tasks for him, and gradually receded until the employee was able to carry the workload on his own. I wondered how these intensive programs could be financially feasible. 

The speaker pointed out that a well trained worker contributes back to society in multiple ways. Their children are not on welfare. They pay taxes. They buy food and clothes. Support up front is a good investment. 

The parallel with marriage preparation is clear. If we hope that a relationship will be strong enough to endure for a lifetime, it is prudent to invest in them upstream. Marriage classes, books, mentoring, one on one conversations all build up a couple in the beginning when they may be more receptive. Preventing habits that erode trust and communication is vastly easier than eradicating them. 

But I will leave the rest to your imagination. I gotta go. John and I are meeting a young couple for coffee.