Relational Success

I want to wrap up this month of focusing on the roles that God has for the husband and the wife in a Christian marriage by looking at three things you can do together to help you succeed as a couple.

(1) Support each other. A great way to do this is when you are in public. Have you ever been around a couple and one of them (or both) puts the other down in front of others? It actually makes me sick. I know the damage they are doing to each other and to their marriage. Don’t be that couple. There were times when Nancy and I were out and something came up that we could have argued about. In the early years of our marriage, we did argue some in front of others. But then we made a pact that anytime we were out in public and something came up, we would wait until we got home to discuss it. That pact is huge for us. It not only keeps us from fighting in public but also gives us time to calm down before talking about something.

(2) Be a student of your spouse. I tell couples to do this all the time. First, you will never learn everything about your spouse; and second, over time people might change. What does your spouse like and not like? What makes them feel loved? Do they like surprises or not? By learning more about your spouse, it helps keep you from making assumptions about them that may be way off base. After being married all these years, I still discover new things about Nancy all the time.

(3) Continually look for ways to enrich and grow your marriage. Attend marriage classes or conferences, read books together, go on marriage retreats. An Awesome Marriage takes work today, tomorrow, and “until death do you part.” Learn, grow, and have fun all the days of your lives together.