This week we’ve been looking at different commitments to strengthen our marriages. The last one ties into the story I shared on Monday about navigating carefully. Have you ever been driving cross-country and find yourself fighting fatigue, nodding off and jerking back to alertness, clutching the wheel more tightly? We can make commitments to nurture and protect, but what if we still find ourselves drifting towards the wrong lane?
3. Commitment to Course Correct
Sometimes we make allowances for a season when there are unique circumstances, but it’s easy to let temporary choices become habits that get us off course.
There may be a season when you have to travel a lot for work and you find yourself drifting apart from your spouse. At what point are you accommodating your career over your marriage and need to course correct?
You’re individuals and you may have separate interests, that involve relationships outside your marriage, but if the majority of time you spend on hobbies and social activities doesn’t include your spouse, you may need to course correct.
There may be a time when you’re stretched thin or have babies with crazy schedules and sleep becomes a priority over worshipping together on Sunday, but when does it become a habit rather than an exception and you need to course correct?
There may be time when you feel like you need to care for yourself, but it’s important to discern when self-centeredness becomes the norm over serving your spouse, and you need to course-correct.
There have been a couple of times in our marriage when we felt we needed the help of a counselor. Not because there was anything dramatic going on, but to do just a little course correction. We’ve told our married kids that if they ever want counseling and cost is a deterrent, we’ll pay.
What if you talked to your spouse tonight and had the courage to ask, “How are we doing? Are there areas where we’re getting a little off-course and need to make little corrections?” When we talk about potential dangers, when we bring them into the light, we start to drain them of their power.
Like I’ve written before, we’ve become more acutely aware of the spiritual battle that is going on. It’s so easy to let little stuff slide, but Peter reminds us:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Maybe take a minute to pray for your marriage and the marriages of those close to you right now?
Nurture, protect, course correct – in marriage, in parenting, in relationships. Wow. Sound wisdom, much needed in this day and age – including in the church. Well-said, particularly with your down-to-earth examples. It’s in the living that Jesus shines through, (or sometimes, not, so much).
Thanks Jodi. We’re all stumbling along doing our best, right? Thankful for grace!