When you vow to spend your life with one person, one thing is certain: the world is going to look for every little opportunity to drive a wedge between you and destroy your marriage. Satan wants you to question whether your spouse is faithful. He wants you to feel like your significant other does not “romance you” enough.
Social media will scream “Look at how awesome their marriage is.” Your schedule will begin to tell you that date night is not that important, your time together can be delayed, and that other people might know your spouse better than you do.
The fiery darts are going to come at you from every direction, which is when you and your spouse must cling tightly to the hope and grace of Jesus while implementing more honesty, openness, and support.
How to Prioritize Your Marriage
Please consider these simple but effective steps, suggested by Marriage Counselors at Sandiego Christian Counseling for how to prioritize your marriage and make time together more intentional:
Complete daily check-ins with another.
Communicating with your spouse should be at the top of your list! If we want our relationship with anyone to grow, we must communicate. If we want to grow in our faith, we read our Bible and talk to God constantly. In the same way, if we want our marriage to thrive, we must stay in constant communication.
Check in with your spouse as you start your day. Know what their day includes, how you can pray for them, and how you can support them. At the conclusion of your day, talk through the trials, challenges, and blessings that the day held. Make it your mission as a spouse to be their biggest cheerleader and most fervent prayer warrior.
Remove the distractions.
In a world full of chaotic schedules and the endless demands of work, commitments, and raising children, it is important to remove distractions from time to time. Take a technology-free evening stroll. Sit by the fireplace early in the morning with a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
Find a reliable babysitter so you can go on dates and focus on the person who God blessed you with to hold your hand through life. Watch the sunrise together. Play a board game once the kids go to bed. Plan a surprise dinner date at home, complete with candles!
Ask before you assume.
It can be easy to jump to conclusions and become angry over the simplest (or even nonexistent) things. Make it your marriage mission to work on going directly to the source; your spouse. Misunderstandings happen when you do not go the extra mile to clarify and ask questions. Invite vulnerability to your conversations and try to approach a misunderstanding with the intent to improve the situation rather than expect the worst and prove you are right.
Prioritize your faith.
Great marriages don’t happen by luck or by accident. They are the result of a consistent investment of time, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, affection, prayer, mutual respect, and a rock-solid commitment between a husband and a wife. – Dave Willis
There is nothing more humbling and life-giving than growing in your faith and your relationship with Christ together. It was once said, “A power couple is a praying couple.”
Most people view a “power couple” as two individuals who have both achieved much success in the world’s eyes. Perhaps they have noteworthy jobs, make a lot of money, and have “picture-perfect” children and an immaculate home. What if we change the narrative and become a “power couple” who puts Jesus first?
Become your own form of a “power couple.”
- Put Jesus first.
- Apologize regularly.
- Serve one another.
- Raise your babies in church.
- Be one another’s biggest support system.
- Try not to assume the worst and jump to conclusions.
- Ask for help.
- Cry/feel/grieve in the seasons when those emotions are at the forefront of your heart.
- Embrace the chaos of raising a family.
- Hug and kiss constantly.
- Make one another laugh.
- Invest in marriage counseling.
God created marriage to be a beautiful and sacred gift. Take time to treasure, appreciate, grow with, and be vulnerable with your person. Do not feel the need to put on this we-have-a-perfect-marriage façade. Every relationship has room to improve, and your marriage is worth investing in.
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NIV
If you want to learn new communication skills, work through past trauma, find out how to effectively minister to your spouse based on their love language/personality, or just want to know how to help your marriage thrive, call today to schedule your appointment with one of the counselors in our directory.
Sandiego Christian Counseling wants your marriage to go beyond survival mode. We want you to flourish like an orchestra; the instruments are strong individually, but together, they can change the world.
“Couple and Dog”, Courtesy of Elisabeth Jurenka, Unsplash.com, Unsplash+ License; “On the Beach”, Courtesy of Kobby Mendez, Unsplash.com, Unsplash+ License; “Imminent Kiss”, Courtesy of Thanh Tran, Unsplash.com, CC0 License
