Three Steps To A Loving Marriage
If I’ve learned anything in my five years of marriage, it’s the fact that my husband and I are anything from perfect.He’s stubborn and laughs when he gets stressed or the situation is intense. Think about the person that laughs when someone starts crying. It’s not because they’re mean, it’s because they feel uncomfortable and know they shouldn’t laugh so they start! We’ve had many laugh fights that either end up with me fuming out my ears or laughing right alongside of him.
Then you have me.. The crazy, hormonal, stubborn, head case. Granted, we’ve been married for five years and have three kids. Basically, I’ve pretty much been pregnant or dealing with the hormones post baby our entire marriage. Poor Joel has had to deal with all of my crazy emotions for quite a while.
So, how can you have a good marriage when you have two imperfect, crazy people? Here’s a little tip.
[tweetthis]“Above all else, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” -1 Peter 4:8[/tweetthis]
The fact is we are all sinners. We constantly fall short of perfection. So, what does God say is the answer? He calls us to love each other like He loves us. Love gives us grace for each other. Instead of holding onto past hurts, we can choose to love our partner.
Here are a few steps to have a loving marriage.
We need to trust that God is perfect.
When we remember that God is the only perfect one we stop expecting perfection from our partner. We begin to give them grace and love them faults and all.
Pray.
Pray for and with your partner every day. Pray that God will help you to love them more. As much as movies and romance novels tell us that love is purely raw heat and emotion, that only lasts so long. Most of us start off our marriage in the honeymoon stage, but then our marriage grows and changes as we do. Love is a choice. We choose to love each other when the emotions are there and when they aren’t.
Stop keeping a tally on past hurts.
It’s inevitable, you will hurt each other. Whether it be on purpose or unintentionally. After it’s all said and done, you have to let it go. Forgiveness is a process. Sometimes it’s easy to say “I forgive you,” and have it be over and done with right there. Often times, it will take more than that. Bring those past hurts to God instead of punishing your partner for something they’ve done in the past.
If you’re having a hard time letting go, talk to each other. Work through it together rather than being angry alone.
Marriage is fun, messy, emotional, and beautiful. Give each other grace and let your love for God and each other cover over your imperfections.