Last week Blair from Scribblings by Blair tagged me with a meme. It is called the Valentine meme …
The questions asked on this meme: “What’s one thing you have learned to do differently to make your marriage better? Or one thing you think is important to a good marriage?”.
Well, I will try to answer both of them. The one thing I have learned in almost 23 years of marriage I would do differently: Never, ever take my Sweetheart for granted!!! Don’t leave the house without saying goodbye and “I Love You”, because you never know if you will see your partner again that day/night. I have seen it plenty of times where a spouse left the house and didn’t return, due to a heart attack or to an accident. The sorrow was great in all cases I have seen. So, now I make sure that I don’t leave the house without a kiss, a hug and “I Love You”! Think about it before you leave the house; even when you are in a rush, turn around and make sure you give him a kiss…
The one thing that is important to a marriage? Mhm…I think there are several things, but most of them my blogging friends have already mentioned in their posts: communication, friendship, let it go, being thankful. One point Carol already touched on in her post is ‘submission’ – I call it respecting each other. Oh, I am not saying that I ever disrespect my husband, but it took me 22 years to realize that I can disrespect without words; with my actions. How I say things; what tone of voice I use.
But mostly I took my Sweetheart for granted. I knew he is there for me if I needed a shoulder to cry on, or just needed a hug. But, I never told him how much I needed him, because I thought that he knew anyway (and that men don’t like that kind of ‘muchy’ stuff – I stand corrected). With God’s guidance and the help of a couple books (Love & Respect and For Women Only) I have made some changes!
Another important key to a strong marriage is ‘us’ time. Hugging, kissing and …God made us to be together in a certain way. If we neglect that part in a relationship, bad things can happen; even to Christian marriages. I pray every day for our marriage in that area…
Not sure I have said anything new, but maybe it is new to you. Actually I like to tag this time, because all of us have a different approach and different insights on marriage/partnership. My tags: Amie, Blest, Lisa and Stormii. Hope you fine ladies are up to it (could have tagged more, but I wanted some for you to tag – lol)…
Lovely thoughts, Iris. I think you hit it on the head. At our house, nobody leaves without being prayed over and told they are loved.
We do take too much for granted, don’t we?
Hmmm . . . important in marriage? Time and focus. Keeping your spouse a priority.
something important to do for your spouse? Don’t expect him to fill needs only God can fill.
I definitely have a tendency to take my hubby for granted since we work together in the business and we’re together practically 25/8! Because of this, I tend to make my friends and other people a priority since I don’t see them as often. I always have to remind myself that he is still my husband, and that his needs, his requests, his concerns should come before all other’s. I am happy that marriages on earth always have room for improvement 🙂 I agree with what Paula said, we should never expect our husbands to fill in our unmet needs. because when we do this, we will always end up frustrated, disappointed and empty.
Hope you have a great weekend! Btw, i accepted the TTH hosting offer 🙂
Hi! Unicorn sent me. I guess today we almost have similar topic about marriage but with different titles. I guess the best is respect. We may love our mate but if there is no respect it won’t last. Why don’t you come visit my site and see what is said in there about the Art of Marriage.
I’m thinking about it right now and will post soon.
that is such a sweet post! i wish to one day have a marriage as strong as yours! to have my future husband be my best friend. to trust him completely. to respect him.
thanks so much for the encouragement you have been! to show there is a place for a true woman of God in the world who tries to make womanhood and feminity a “weak” role.
tag noted! I now begin pondering… 😉
Thank you my friends with your kind comments. 🙂 Been a little busy this weekend with my job search 🙂
Hey girlie – this is awesome! I know I’ve taken Erik for granted – this is a great reminder.
I agree totally with the ‘us’ time too ;o)
Thank you so much for playing Iris – this was well worth the wait!