Cherish Your Partner

Week 6 Nurturing Relationships

Just like shortening or butter help hold a cookie together, a couple’s fondness and admiration for one another can hold a marriage together. 

One of the steps to achieving this fondness and admiration is to see your spouse in a positive light. How many times has your spouse done something that annoys you? How did you react? Did it end well, or was the outcome a war zone? So picture the same thing your spouse did to annoy you. This time you think of some of the good things about your spouse. Perhaps you are able to laugh the offense off because you remembered some of the positive things about your spouse.

When I was first married, I remember thinking my husband could do no wrong. He was smart, he took care of me, he was kind, he was generous, he was a leader, he was spiritual, and he loved me. All of these qualities were what attracted me to him. Now, 25 years later some of these qualities frustrate me. Yes, he is a great leader and spiritual, but for those reasons he seems to always be involved in some church job that requires him to be gone from home a lot. These two qualities that drew me to him in the beginning, now make me crazy because I have very little time with him. I find myself irritated at him. What changed? Why do the things that made me so happy make me crazy now? I think I have forgotten to see him in a positive light. 

A few things I am doing this week to help see him in a more positive light:

Remembering those good qualities and making a written list of them.

Thanking him sincerely for the things he does for our family

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Calling or texting him regularly during the day to make sure he knows I’m thinking of him.

Thinking about all the things he has done over the years help me feel good about myself.

Speaking the kind things I think to him!

By doing these things on a consistent basis it helps me to see him in a better light. When we see the good in each other we our marriage wins! We stay bound together!