"L" is for the way...
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you lovebirds out there. I hope that it was a great one! Valentine’s is always special for us because it marks the anniversary of our first date. I can still vividly remember everything about that Saturday night - 34 years ago.
Earlier this week, Julie and I were interviewed by a woman that is in seminary and is taking a family counseling class. Her task was to interview a couple that had been married for a long time and she had a series of questions for us that mostly centered around the secrets to a happy marriage. The questions forced both us to really put some thought into what the key ingredients are.
By no means do Julie and I have a perfect marriage (no one does) but we are blessed with a great marriage and I wanted to share a few of these thoughts with each of you. Obviously, keeping Christ in the center of your marriage is foundational to everything else but here are some additional practical and specific things to focus on:
Know your spouses love languages and intentionally give them love in those languages every day.
She needs love and he needs respect. We both have other needs than this but this is where it all starts.
Be the best possible version of ourselves - spiritually, emotionally & physically. Focus on being “healthy” in all of these areas.
Know our God ordained roles - embrace them and do them to the best of our ability. Every marriage will look a little different on this but you have to enthusiastically embrace your roles and function as a team.
Be a good forgiver. ‘A great marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” Ruth Bell Graham
None of us will do these perfectly all of the time but they are great reminders to keep us on the right track. That is why the last one is so important - ha.
Have a blessed week and….
Stay Hungry,
Big E