Conversations between a couple usually improves our relationship. Many times, as the children leave home, we have nothing in common – or so we think. Going to a restaurant for pie, grocery shopping together, jointly sitting on the porch swing, etc. will facilitate times for us to chat together.
We can use these times to brainstorm ways we can spend more time together. Starting a hobby, short trips to local small towns, planting a garden together or picking veggies or fruit at the local gardens and orchards, walking or biking around the neighborhood, riding together to do errands, simultaneously watching a movie or sporting event on TV, etc. will give us times to connect.
Key actions during this time include making our mate feel special, supporting our spouse’s efforts to help us, giving each other free times with friends, doing acts of kindness for each other, sharing chores, vowing our loyalty to one another, showing respect, listening to each other’s concerns and joys, openly and honestly but kindly sharing areas we need more interaction, etc. will prove our love on a daily basis.
Cuddling on the couch, giving long kisses rather than quick pecks, sharing a time of massage, sitting at the dining table with a cup of tea or coffee, eating meals together at the table and not in front of the TV, before bed taking time to chat about our day and the people we met and the activities in which we participated are more avenues for communication.
Supporting each other during trials rather than allowing them to rip us apart, enjoying play times together, reading God’s Word or attending church services together, sitting together during times of fellowship and shared meals with friends, reminiscing about our shared past, etc. also sets the stage for good times of communication.
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for providing us with our mate and for teaching us how to interact together to increase our unity and intimacy. The empty nest gives us a chance to reconnect with each other that we missed while caring for the demands of a family. Remind us to accept one another as we are and to admire each other’s strengths. Teach us to compliment one another regularly and to share what we do right, rather than criticizing or harping on what we are doing wrong.
Help us not to have unrealistic expectations for our spouse or our marriage. We are both human, and neither of us is perfect, and there is always more than one way to do things, so remind us that we need to give each other more grace and compassion and be more accommodating toward one another. Help us to follow Your Spirit each moment of our day and to give you all the praise and glory for our life.
Thoughts for the Day:
Spending time with our mate and making their needs a top priority in our schedule of events during each day will increase our intimacy. Trials are opportunities to face them together and to grow closer as we share them together and learn from them. Investing more time in our relationship than in our vocation, ministry, or our own pursuits will provide great benefits now and bigger dividends for our future together.
