Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Became ParentsSample

Nurturing Our Marriage Should Be High on Our To-Do List

On day six of Creation, God made animals, and He made man and woman.

God created Adam and Eve on day six of Creation and then proceeded to put them to work!  He directed them (and you and me) to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

Considering their “to-do list,” I suspect that Adam and Eve knew something about the stresses of marriage and parenting. We know for a fact they had communication issues and played the blame game (Genesis 3), which still happens for many of us today.

It seems that a certain amount of marital stress and discord are to be expected. We are, after all, human. 

The problem, however, is not the stress of life; the problem is that we as couples often blame each other for the stress or push each other away during stressful times. The solution is the exact opposite—in stressful times, we can remember that stress is normal and survivable. We also can and should treat each other as if we’re valuable teammates on the same team.

That sounds so easy, doesn’t it?! And, it is, if we humble ourselves and work to tame our prideful tendencies. 

With a humble heart and mind, we won’t balk as easily about life’s stresses. We will remember that God charged us with some pretty big responsibilities in this life. We also will remember that, like us, our spouse is not perfect but is made in God’s image and, because of that, is worthy of love and respect.

Beyond choosing to humble ourselves, we as couples need to nurture our marriage.  This may mean sending sweet texts, actively listening to each other, going on dates, cuddling, scheduling kid-free getaways when possible, etc. We may even need to schedule time for each other to ensure we actually follow through with our good intentions.

What will you do to nurture your marriage today? Put that higher on your to-do list!