As promised, I’m listing the last five top 10 secrets for a happy marriage. If you missed the first five, click here. The list isn’t exhaustive, of course, but it is practical. Every marriage deserves the tools to be happy – including yours! So here goes….
6. Keep the Home Fires Hot
I once heard Shannon Ethridge say “unmarried women tend to over-estimate the importance of sex, but married women tend to under-estimate the importance of sex.” I think she’s right. So enjoy the gift God gave you. Sex is the difference between being roommates and being married.
7. Make Your Marriage a Party of 3 – the 2 of You, and God.
Go to church together as a family. Pray together as a couple for your kids, your finances, your goals, your dreams, and your decisions. Attend a marriage conference. Read a Christian book together. If you’re the only one interested in spiritual things, you can still make your marriage a party of 3: Pray for your spouse (note: pray for them, not about them) every day. You may be the only person who does.
8. Appreciate, appreciate, and appreciate!
The antidote for becoming disillusioned in marriage is this: appreciate your guy.
The same guy who works long hours probably has a great work ethic. The man who changes plans on a dime is probably loads of fun. The man who likes the house perfectly clean is likely organized and dependable. Whether he bugs you or completes you is largely dependent on whether you appreciate him, for him.
9. Choose Commitment
Seasons of marriage come and go, ebb and flow. Your baby will eventually sleep through the night; your teenager won’t always test your sanity; a job will someday be found; the hardship you’re experiencing today will likely have a resolution five years from now. A difficult season is just that: a season, and seasons don’t last forever. But committed relationships do. Choose commitment now; reap contentment later.
10. Forgive and Ask for Forgiveness
Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth Bell Graham, said it best: “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers”. JP said it second best, “The most important quality for a happy marriage is humility.” There’s no issue, no problem, no challenge, no heartache, two humble people can’t work through.
