Marriage, like any friendship, begins with areas of commonality, but the stresses of normal everyday life – children, work, finances, illness, caring for elderly parents – can tax the union and cause it to grow apart. Traditional marriage counseling is one way to deepen your friendship, but you can also engage in some simple practices.
Here are 12 suggestions to cultivate a stronger relationship with your spouse. I’ve also included quotes from average folks who have successfully built this kind of friendship:
- Recognize that friendship building takes a lot of work – and time. Cut the fat out of your day.
“We’ve made some significant concessions for the sake of our friendship. Phil lives close to his work so that he can come home for lunch as often as possible. The short commute has improved his mood and energy.” —Amy
- Establish a time each week to spend quality time together – then guard that time with your lives!
- Choose to spend time together rather than apart. This may mean sacrificing good things for a season such as small groups, ministry, or bonding time with guys or gals.
- Explore the interests of your spouse be it baseball, art, musical theater, gardening or hunting. Find out what they are passionate about and then join them. Often this takes a bit of sacrifice.
“I intentionally study the things that are having an influence on my wife. If she takes up a new area of interest, or is reading a new book, than I need to do that as well.” —Bill
- Take time to find common interests and then engage in them.
“We’ve tried many things together over the past 35 years. We enjoy cooking and gardening, and for as long as I can remember we take time away from the kids to backpack during summer. Part of the fun is doing research on hiking trails, camp sites, packs, tents, and cooking stoves … it’s the planning together that has grown our friendship.” —John
Source: Focus on the Family | Alyson Weasley