I thought of more marital advice. Dear Lord, I may have actually become slightly wiser over the past 20 years! Who knew?? But once I got a’thinkin, I was on a roll. And I proclaim these things not as a woman who has mastered Marital Proficiency by any means, but as a Work In Progress. I’ve learned most of these nuggets by first doing them so miserably wrong. I brought tons of baggage into the marriage along with my beloved floral couch and Tea Garden framed print.
So here are a few other tidbits of counsel my Current Middle-Aged Self would offer to my Young Bride Past Self:
FIGURE OUT HIS LOVE LANGUAGE AND USE IT! Use it often. “Nuff said.
JEALOUSLY GUARD YOUR TIME TOGETHER! You have permission to put one another first after God. There will be people in your life, specifically extended family, who will make unhealthy demands on your time and energy and holidays. Do not cave into manipulations. It is not honoring to anyone to be a People-Pleaser. Your husband is to be the most important human relationship in your heart. Decide together what is best for you as couple, and stand as a united front.
PLAY TOGETHER REGULARLY! The years will fly, and you will one day become empty-nesters. Do you want to look at each other blankly and think, “Now what??” Enjoy each other from the beginning, and don’t stop when the babies arrive. Make time for regular date nights and play days. Serve together, share favorite tv shows, have Couple Friends you enjoy. This is key: Cultivate a relationship with a baby sitter, and pay her well! She’ll be worth every penny.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
All true! But it is also true that their is so much to be said for the empty nest ... IF you do it correctly.
Ron-
You write the Empty Nester post, and I'll learn from you. We have quite a few years to go, however. But I bet it's a wonderful time of life.
Post a Comment