Devotional Reading Plan

Flexibility is a Sign of Maturity

My wife and I have two adult sons. One is married with a brand new baby, and one is getting married about three months from writing this devotional. So the topic of empty nesters is front and center in our world.

We are very close to our son - we've home schooled them and they work at our design agency. We see each other almost every day of the week but give each other space in the off-hours and weekends.

But when our older son gets married and moves out, we'll be 100% empty nesters.

My wife and I have a great relationship and have been preparing for this for some time. But no matter how you prepare yourself for having your children leave the house, it still has an impact on your relationship.

When my older son gets married, both our sons will have fantastic wives, and we will be close to them as well. I don't call them "daughters-in-law". I call them "daughters-in-love". It's crucial for you to develop a relationship with your children's spouse - and even their families - as you are going to be spending time with them all.

As we prepared for this transition with our youngest (who got married first), we established a saying, "flexibility is a sign of maturity". This phrase may come in handy as there are going to be some situations that won't go your way; but you have to understand it's not on purpose. Your grown children are being pulled in more directions and trying to make everyone happy.

This brings me to the topic of "your marriage". Are you investing in your marriage? So that when your children move out you are not living with a stranger?

Whether your children are out of the house or soon-to-be gone, you must start to invest in the relationship with your spouse. Truth be told, you and I should be doing that whether our children are at home or are already gone.

You may find a lot of freedom in your schedule now; how will you use that freedom to build into your marriage?