Marriage Advice Collaboration

Today starts a series that I have been excited for! I asked some of the women in my life to send me tidbits of what they have learned in the time they have been married. Whether it be 20 plus years or just a few – I was interested in learning what they have picked up – through the good times and bad – and to be able to learn from them and to pass it on to you! 

Mine and my OH’s first anniversary is coming up in 10 days (the day before Passover starts!) so I thought that it would be fitting to lead up to that with those who are much wiser than me. 

Today’s post is from my sister in law Michaela, whom I love dearly and count as a sister. Her and my brother have two boys and a little girl on the way (I am SO excited!!!).  She is an accomplished photographer (any engagement/wedding photos i put up are hers!), talented decorator and her home is always welcoming and relaxing. 

“Isn’t time a funny thing sometimes? Like how after almost 12 years of marriage I can barely remember what it felt like to be single and on the other hand it still seems as though we are so young that we are just newlyweds! What I can say absolutely is that being married to Jerod is the BEST thing about my life here on earth! We’ve been overwhelmingly blessed by the Lord in our marriage and as I reflect on what has made it so great I realized it’s not any secret, just a lot of practical advice and examples we’ve had throughout our years from family, friends, authors and speakers. The foundation for us has been making our marriage (and anything important) the priority by being intentional (that has actually become our life goal). The older I get I realize more and more that everything, especially our relationships, flow out of my daily/hourly relationship with Jesus. the more I am growing in Him through daily studying the Bible and prayer the better my other precious relationships thrive! And along with the personal aspect of my faith is the community aspect of being involved in a local congregation where I am involved in some kind of small group where I am being mentored and held accountable by others, often older women/wives. Being humble and teachable, always realizing there is room for improvement in my marriage makes mentoring work! I try to always be reading Biblical books on marriage and attending/listening to marriage conferences (like with Family Life Today ministry hosts). Another way to show the priority of marriage is to schedule regular times for us to play, relax and have fun as a couple! But also remembering that as much as I hate the hard times, it’s then that we grow even closer and our love grows even sweeter! I remember as a newlywed being told “Oh it only gets better” and thinking “how could it?” Now I know it does… there is always more to look forward to when we are daily investing in our most important human relationship.”

here is a link to the marriage resource she mentions: http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/marriage#.Uz3Zf_ldWYg

Join us again next week for our next installment in this series! 

~Laura 

Tags: Christ-focused marriage, faith based marriages, marriage advice