Marriage on the Edge Sample

Friendship on the Edge

It has always been important to me that Nancy is trustworthy and honest. Yet, is it ever fair for me to expect those from her while not also being trustworthy and honest myself? NO! Not only is it not fair, it’s not who God wants me to be as her husband.

In our marriage, we each focus on personally living out the definition of love that Paul gives in I Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Work hard on your marriage. Seek healing in every area that is “on the edge” in your marriage. Work together. Struggle through the things you need to struggle through. Build or rebuild an awesome marriage. Do all of these and more but do one more thing: Set aside time for fun. Having fun gets us back in touch with why we got married in the first place. When was the last time you had fun together? What did the two of you do to have fun before marriage?

Set aside the time to have fun together. Then try this: Each of you write down five things you think would be fun to do together on separate slips of paper. Then draw one out each week and do what it says. It may be a little awkward at first, but keep it up. Intentionally setting aside time to have fun together is part of your healing process and something for you to continue throughout your marriage.

As you begin to work on the friendship and fun in your marriage I want to warn you that it might feel really awkward. Give each other the benefit of the doubt here. Push through the awkwardness. When it feels difficult or impossible to change, confess this to God and ask for His help, knowing that as 2 Corinthians tells us, His power is perfected in our weakness.

Be kind to each other and make the effort to start your journey to being best friends. Paul says it best in I Thessalonians 5:11, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

Next Steps:

• Work together on your friendship priority list.
• How can you prioritize your friendship in this season? What does that look like practically?
• What are a few things that would be fun to do together? Keep this list growing!

Are you willing to try 1 more thing to save your marriage?

As your next step I encourage you to keep working on your marriage with my live webinar, 11 Things to Do Before You Get a Divorce. This reading plan may have been your first step to getting your marriage where God wants it to be. The 11 Things webinar is a great step to keep you moving toward healing.

Your next step may be an appointment with a counselor or using one or more of our resources at Awesome Marriage. No matter where your marriage is today, it can be better tomorrow. You will not believe all God has in store for you!