Everyday we invest in something. We invest in our wedding, cars, homes, careers, family, friends, children even ourselves but god forbid we invest in our marriage, it seems that the idea of investing in ones marriage seems to be too heavy of a cross to carry. What does it look like to invest in something ? When you invest in your vehicle you make sure the oil is changed on a regular, you keep it gassed up, you make sure its clean inside and out. When you invest in your self you make sure you get your hair cut and groomed, your nails done and outfits just right. When you invest in your friends you make yourself available when they are in need, you take the time to keep the friendship alive by remembering and celebrating birthdays and milestones. When you invest in your wedding you find the right dress, suit, caterer, venue, music, photographer and everything else in between.
There is no stone unturned when it comes to your wedding.
When people think of investing many automatically think from a financial perspective. Investing whether financial or otherwise is giving intentional time and energy to produce a meaningful and productive result. So why is it so discomforting when it comes to investing in our marriage ? What needs to happen for husbands and wives to see the importance of investing even more in their marriage then they did in their wedding.
"We say it but we truly do not ingest the reality that a wedding is for a day and a marriage is for a lifetime."
What we seem to do is invest in our wedding as if its for a lifetime and our marriage as if its for a day. The results of this mindset is in the fact that the divorce rate in 2019 is at 39%. Although the divorce rate has decreased unhealthy marriages have not. People are staying together because it truly is “cheaper to keep her” so now we are in the age of the “Marital roommate” syndrome.
The goal is not only to decrease the rate of divorces but to also decrease the rate of unhealthy relationships & marriages. How are we to do this ? Invest in your marriage equal or more then you invested in your wedding. Ways that this can be accomplished is by being intentional about making sure you attend a marriage conference or workshop at least once a year, read books regularly (a minimum of 3 a year), join a book club, have regular date nights, take vacations together (with children and at least one yearly just the two of you), exercise together, pick a hobby (each year you can alter who chooses, and remember, you do not have to like the hobby, the goal is too connect with your spouse.
POINTS TO PONDER:
Are you INTENTIONALLY investing in your marriage ?
If you are not investing in your marriage how do you intend for it to grow ?
LETS GROW:
You will not have a successful marriage without your permission. Your permission means you are intentional about the ACTIONS which will bear fruit towards the success of your marriage.
Choose 3 actions you can begin to implement that shows you are investing in your marriage/spouse.
Ask your spouse what are 3 ways they would like to see you invest and you make at least one a priority.
Be intentional about being intentional. Let this word be a part of your daily vocabulary. Do a self check and ask yourself, “ How intentional have I been today/this week ?”
The only proof someone has to back up words is ACTIONS !
