There are many advantages
to staying together with our first love. The main benefit is for our children.
The continuity of the family is a basic human need.
Children are
encouraged that their own marriage will make it through the tough times, just
like their parents did. Otherwise, they will develop a disposable mentality as
well.
Staying married
contributes to overall emotional, mental, spiritual, financial and physical
health. It reduces the stress of starting over and the effects of grief, which
divorce adds to our life.
Dating new people,
while fun in some cases, is risky because everyone has baggage of some sort,
visible and invisible. In a second marriage, we often spend more time with our
spouse's children than our own.
Therefore, do not
get careless in your marriage; relax, but look, speak and act attractively for
one another. Continue dating each other, even when the children come along. Enjoy
your mate's company.
When we and our
spouse disagree, we can find a third alternative, on which we can both agree.
If there is a seemingly unsolvable issue, get counseling to find an agreeable
path.
We may need to
take a break, to put a brief time or distance between each other in order to
gain a new perspective on our relationship.
A separation for
the purpose of reconciliation gives us a chance to talk about our disagreements
with the freedom of having a safe place to go if tempers flare or we feel
frustrated or unsafe.
We may find that we
miss our spouse, the security they give to our life and little joys they bring
to our everyday experiences, their laughter and support.
We can both agree
to change habits which cause friction in our relationship. We can gain a better
understanding of our spouse by talking intimately about each other's honest
feelings, needs and desires.
Forgiveness helps
us to rekindle the love we once felt for each other. We will grow to admire,
encourage, appreciate, cherish and serve one another all the days of our life,
and we will stay together until death parts us.
Prayer:
Father God, remind
us that our marriage vows were made to You as well as to our spouse. Prompt us
to pray with our spouse, because You help us to resolve our issues. If we take
turns praying, each partner praying one sentence at a time, this prevents much
of the frustration of praying together. Teach us to pause and listen to You
speak to us as we pray too.
Help us to bear
one another's burdens, to be long suffering with each other's shortcomings, to
encourage and build each other up and to enjoy one another's company. Remind us
why we fell in love in the first place and help us to keep the eternal flame of
agape love burning.
Thought for the
Day:
Love each other
deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:8
