Marriages are such an important part of so many of our lives. We desire to have a great relationship with our spouse but often struggle to implement the necessary elements to make that happen. The only way we can see improvements in our lives and marriages is to remove bad habits, then start or improve on the good habits.
One key that will promote marital success is when we make communication with our spouse a daily priority. We give everyone else our best throughout the day, at work, with our kids, even strangers so when we get home we are done! When that happens we find our conversations with our spouse are only regarding the essentials or problems. We have to talk about things other than negatives in our lives.
We also should be each others biggest encourager, not the biggest critic. Because we are so familiar with our spouse (and seen them at their worst) we think it gives us permission to criticize. When really we can choose to see the best in them!
The final key is to never give up on each other. Marriage is not based on feelings, it’s based on a covenant before God. Choose to love, stay faithful, pray for them often. There will be days when you don’t “feel” like your marriage is going well. We can’t let one day turn into 1 week, then 1 month and become a year. Until finally we say, “I just don’t love them anymore.” Love is a choice, staying committed is a choice.
We all fail, miss it, say the wrong thing at the wrong time and are silent when they need an encouraging word, but we will not give up on each other. God did not give up on us, we will not give up on our spouse. God may not instantly change our situation, but I can guarantee He wants to change us.
What key can you improve on to be a better spouse and attain marital success?