My husband, Grant, and I have been married for over 20 years now and we have learned along the way how to better protect our marriage. I received this article in my email box this morning ( Is the Grass Really Greener?) and felt it was well worth sharing. After all the adrenaline and excitement of the big day is over you are finally husband and wife and now how do you keep this life together, together?
There are many factors that are going to come against your marriage; miscommunication, time apart caused by committments, distractions of raising children, media romantising adultery, etc.
The first place to protect your marriage is by monitoring your thoughts. When you find yourself "wondering if... " or becoming emotionally attached to someone that is starting to take first place in your thoughts that is an indicator that you need to reign in your thoughts.
One way to reign in your thoughts is to choose to focus on how thankful you are for your spouse. Be intentional about expressing your thanks and be specific. "Thank you honey for getting my overcoat drycleaned." Grant nearly always takes care of the drycleaning in our house. I want to let him know I appreciate it even though it is an unspoken task of his.I was recently in Washington DC during one of the snow storms. (That is why my overcoat needed to be drycleaned, street salt.) My trip ended up being three days longer than intended. Grant and I mostly communicated through cell texting, but every once in awhile I just wanted to hear his voice. We were able to share our day's events throughout the day without interrupting eachother because of the time zone differences. Through this communication we are able to affirm in eachother that we are thinking of the other even when we are apart. Thoughts are very strong forces that can lead to behaviors for the good of a marriage or for the demise of a marriage. Monitor your thoughts.
Have you been intentional about saying "thank you"?
Thank you for submitting your encouraging comments. T;-)
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