The Sunday Mail
WHILE it’s a significant accomplishment just to stay married (when more than 20 percent of all marriages end in divorce), it’s even better to build a marriage that keeps growing stronger over time.
That’s what God hopes you and your spouse will do. You can do much more than simply try to hang onto your marriage; with God’s help, you and your spouse can grow closer to Him and each other every new day of your lives together.
Trust God
You and your husband or wife can’t possibly know what future circumstances you all will encounter during your lives together — but God knows. No matter what happens to you all in the future — good or bad — place your trust fully in God to guide you through it well. Every day, ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom, so you will both know how best to deal with each situation you encounter.
Strong support network
Develop close relationships with friends and family who also trust God, and support each other in ways that strengthen each other’s marriages: prayer, encouragement, accountability, and practical help when needed. Participate in a healthy local church together and build close relationships there, as well.
Open communication lines
Make sure that you and your spouse are communicating honestly and openly about the decisions that each of you face on a regular basis. Don’t surprise your spouse by deciding something that affects both of you without first discussing it together. Check in with each other for regular conversations to stay in sync with each other.
Love and respect when you disagree
Whenever you and your spouse disagree about something — which will happen sometimes, since you are different people with different points of view — focus on understanding each other’s perspectives rather than trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong. Listen to each other carefully and value each other’s opinions. Try to reach a mutual agreement. But if, after discussing the issue lovingly and respectfully, you all cannot agree on it, the husband should make the final decision according to what he thinks is best, keeping in mind that he should love his wife sacrificially, take her perspective seriously, and strive to meet her needs in the decision process.
Keep dating
Make time in your schedules regularly to go on dates together so you can enjoy fun and relaxing time as just the two of you. Keep in mind that your dates don’t have to be complicated or expensive. Your marriage can benefit from dates as simple as evening walks around your neighborhood or lunches out while your kids are in school or on play dates.
Pray together regularly
Establish and maintain a habit of praying with your spouse for wisdom, direction, and strength in your marriage – and to communicate with God about specific concerns that each of you have. Pray that your spouse be, “led not into temptation ,but be delivered from the evil one.”
Work together as a team
Don’t force each other into rigid roles. Instead, assign each other the tasks that you each can do best, according to the abilities that God has given you and your spouse uniquely. Discover how you both function best and use those strengths so your home will function well.
Choose your battles wisely
Let minor irritations in your relationship go, keeping in mind that you each have idiosyncrasies and weaknesses, and giving each other grace. Use time and energy only on disagreements about major issues that you all really need to work through and resolve for the health of your marriage.
Follow dreams
Bring out the best in each other by encouraging each other to pursue the dreams that God has placed on both of your hearts. Don’t let one spouse’s dreams get neglected; aim to be fair and equitable about how you allocate your shared attention, time, energy, and money so that both of you can pursue your God-given dreams.
Trade anxiety for peace
Whenever situations make you or your spouse anxious, pray about them, trusting God to intervene in those situations and guide and empower you to deal with them well. As you trust God, He will give you peace.
Control anger
Be careful not to hurt your spouse through the ways you express your anger (such as by speaking harsh words or throwing objects). Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the self-control you need to direct your anger in healthy, productive ways (like motivation for solving problems) rather than in destructive ways. When you are arguing with your spouse and are having trouble controlling your anger, take a break and resume discussing the issue later when you are not too tired or stressed.
Commitment
As your marital love matures, the intense romantic feelings you had for each other initially may fade, maybe because they have already accomplished their purpose of getting you both to focus on each other. Going forward in your marriage, build your love on the commitment you and your spouse made to each other, which is much more reliable than your feelings.
Grieve losses with grace
Expect to suffer difficult losses together sometimes in this fallen world. Whenever that happens, deal with each other gracefully, supporting each other with whatever you all need to grieve in your own ways while relying on God to help you through the process. There are things you cannot avoid in life but together you can prevail.
Keep learning
During every new day of your marriage that God gives you and your spouse, choose to follow God as he leads you on new adventures, so you both can become the people God intends you to become.
Enjoy your marriage!
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