The courageous have strong marriages. The only ones who will succeed are those couples who are patient, who cherish one another, who quickly forgive slights, who have compassion for each other, and who do not take one another for granted but show gratitude for all our mate does for us.
Forgiving the past and embracing the future as a couple establishes a good relationship. Including vulnerability in our relationship is also important, as well as giving one another the privilege of praying with us about our fears, concerns, desires, needs, disappointments, hurt feelings. We give each other the privilege of sharing in our life pursuits. These allow love, empathy, and understanding to grow between us.
Making a priority for prayer times as a couple, planning our schedules together, sharing in hobbies and interests, reading God’s Word and worshipping together all help to deepen our intimacy with our mate. Actively loving our spouse promotes strong ties and helps us to weather any storm we face either individually or as a couple.
Supporting each other, promoting areas for teamwork, running interference, and rebounding missed “shots,” all help our life to flow more smoothly. Taking time to make a budget and consulting each other before spending more than our budgeted amounts will avoid many an argument and undue stress.
The various cycles of life bring challenges which are often difficult to survive. Mutually making the decisions on choices that affect us both will prevent many negative emotions from rising between us. We face the roller coaster of life together and grow and support one another through the issues that threaten to tear us apart.
Prayer:
Father God, help us to change our focus on issues in life and in one another that we cannot influence or change. Remind us to spend time in prayer for one another to keep us committed to our marriage and to help protect each other from trials, temptations, discouragement, and failings. We want to maintain a perspective of love and joy in our mate’s company.
Protect us from learning these lessons the hard way by consulting You for Your wisdom and power to face the challenges of each new day. Thank You for Your mercy that is new every single morning (Lamentations 3:22-24). Help us to build our relationship on the Rock of Christ rather than on worldly success and possessions (Deuteronomy 32:4; 1 Corinthians 10:4). We want to walk in Your Spirit and to follow Your peace in making all our decisions (Galatians 5:15-25).
Thoughts for the Day:
An enduring love is built on mutual trust, understanding, cooperation, planning, and time spent together. Allowing our vocation or other people to take precedence over our spouse is a tragic decision that will only erode our love and support of one another, making our spouse feel abandoned, undervalued, and unloved.
