Love Your Spouse Even With all Their Imperfections

Goddard shared from his book called Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage that, “No partner on the face of the earth can meet all our needs.” It is inevitable that conflicts and arguments are going to occur in our marriages, however, the important concept is how to manage it. Thinking about my own marriage I wish that there were many times that I could have handled situations a little differently. For example, I like the kitchen to be clean and feel overwhelmed when there are what seems like an endless amount of dishes in the sink. Because this bothers me more than my husband, I make time in my busy schedule to get the dishes done for my own sake. Sometimes this is overwhelming because I feel I am always doing the dishes. When I approach my husband about the situation it is not always in a loving way. John M. Gottman said in his book called the Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, “Before you ask your spouse to change the way he or she drives, eats, vacuums, or [does the dishes], you must make sure your partner feels known and respected rather then criticized or demeaned.” Gottman goes on to say that the extra time we take to approach a situation that is bothering us about our spouse is worth it. I should not talk to my husband in a mean tone questioning why he never finds time to do the dishes but does for other leisure actives. Instead, I should make sure that he knows how much I appreciate him and then express my concern in a more respected and kinder manner.

Another way to manage and handle conflict then simply appreciating our spouse is to also forgive them. It can be hard at times to swallow up our own pride and to forgive another, but it is worth it. James E. Faust shared from a study, that people who are taught to forgive ultimately become, “less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious and less stressed.” Who wouldn’t want less stress, anger, and depression in their marriage? It is crucial to forgive our partner and by doing that you and your partner with benefit. Even though conflicts and trials will arise we should be able to find happiness in our marriages. During the week me and my husband are very busy with work and school, however, we have made it a priority to go on a date night every weekend. We have also recently started to take anywhere from 10-30 mins every day to talk or do an activity together before we get caught up in homework or whatever we have going on that night. The time that we commit to each other has helped us strengthened our marriage more and more. Lynn G. Robbins said, “A happy and successful marriage depends on two good forgivers.” May we all try harder to appreciate our spouses by speaking kinder to them, making it easy to forgive, and by making more quality time for them.

This is a picture of me and my husband on Easter. I honestly can say that I love him  more every day and always try to be the best wife and can be.