Ever wondered if your relationship can withstand the test of time? All long-lasting couples have been in the "marriage trenches" and have experienced brutal physical and mental challenges that have brought their marriage to its raw and initial foundation. Even when it looks like their relationship may not survive the assailing attacks, these couples all remain smiling, laughing and optimistic. How is this possible?

Love is a fierce battlefield. You have to decide if your relationship is worth fighting for. Below are six tests that will prove your relationship can withstand the test of time.

Sickness and Health

Can you love them through sickness and health?

Truth be told, nothing tests the ability of a spouse to love and care for their partner than a bout with the flu. When a spouse becomes invalid and dependent, do they put on their tough face and weather the symptoms or do they shut down completely?

A bout with an illness allows your partner to see how you communicate in a less than optimal conditions. Are you kind and compassionate or stubborn? Are you willing to hold their hair back while they puke their guts out? Do piled up tissues and balmy skin repulse you? Couples who are still kind, patient and loving through sickness can truly last forever.

Fear and Comfort

Can you love them in times of fear and times of comfort?

Your life can be complete bliss one day and utter turmoil the next. Life is perfectly unpredictable, so it is vital to be with a partner that can bask in the bright days and dance in the rainy days with you. Finding someone who can love you in opportune moments as well as times of suffering is a person to keep.

Anxiety and Calm

Can you love them in anxious times as well as times of calm contentment?

In a study done by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, generalized anxiety disorder sufferers were noticeably less likely to consider themselves in a "healthy and supportive relationship". A spouse that suffers from anxiety was three times more likely to avoid intimacy with their partner and two times as likely to experience a dynamic problem in their marriage (frequent fighting, social isolation, lack of understanding). Despite these tendencies, those who remain loving in times of anxiety have a solid foundation that will last for years.

Disappointment and Success

Can you love them when they win and when they lose?

There is nothing more telling in the longevity of a relationship than a partner's ability to revel in your small successes and embrace you in times of defeat. Find someone who loves you either way.

Love and Hate

Can you love them even when you hate them?

Can you love each other even when you hate each other? There is no way you two are going to agree on every little thing that happens in your life. Trying times reveal if your partner is compassionate and willing to work things out.

In times of utter love and times of distaste, a couple's ability to rely on the initial love that drove the two of them together is vital to the longevity of the relationship.

Rich and Poor

Can you love them in times of financial turmoil and stability?

Finances are stressful. A couple that can live happily within their financial means will find they are more content with their life and their partner. Testing whether your partner is satisfied with living off a balanced and strict budget will allow you to see if they can value what both of you bring to the table.

If you and your partner can remain strong through all of the tests life brings, time itself won't be able to pull you apart.