Show Your Love
You have to work at marriage. It doesn’t grow deeper automatically. Some couples can be married for years and still relate on the surface. Marriage has the capacity to be the most intimate human relationship you can experience. But like all relationships it takes work, dedication, and deliberate action. For just as sure as the sun will set at the end of the day, the ‘honeymoon period,’ where words and deeds and expressions of affection are so automatic, will begin to settle down and your commitment begins to be proven. Not just for fidelity, but the rest of what you vowed on your wedding day…to love, honor, cherish, in sickness and in health, for better and for worse.
If the ‘honeymoon period’ experience lasted forever then we would not grow in our ability to love another no matter what, ’til death do us part. (I’m not talking about abusive situations). I know this kind of talk is getting to be like a foreign language in our culture, where marriage is under attack and commitment has lost it’s meaning. But does that mean we should cease to talk about it? No, just the opposite. We need to talk about what healthy relationships look like all the more.
In counseling courses we learn that feelings follow behavior. Doing a kind act, or initiating an expression of love, can make you feel good, even if there isn’t the response you had in mind… if you have the right attitude. And depending on the condition of the relationship, kind acts will return to you. The question is, are you willing to prime the pump? Are you willing to initiate? If you are, here are a few simple suggestions, l for every day of the week, that you can try:
1. Leave a note telling your husband something you appreciate about him, in his briefcase, lunch bag, sock drawer, taped on his rear view mirror…
2. Do something he loves to do even if it doesn’t interest you, like watching his favorite sport or type of movie on TV, or go with him bowling, fishing…
3. Take a walk together and only talk about what’s on his mind. (You may have to get the ball rolling on this one).
4. Cook his favorite meal or dessert for him and serve it with a kiss.
5. Dream together: if money were no object where would you like to travel? What would you both like in your dream home? What would you like to do together to make the world a better place? What charities would you like to give huge amounts to?
6. Go for a ride in the country, or just explore a new part of town. Play his favorite music in the car. Or listen to the baseball game or news he likes…
7. Walk downtown window-shopping together, and go in the stores he shows an interest in. Watch him as he tries out the newest computer or television or tool…can you see him with new eyes
If you aren’t already doing these kinds of things I think you’ll be surprised to see that you enjoy doing them yourself.