WHAT MARRIAGE HAS TAUGHT ME SO FAR
- Sarah Powers
- May 26, 2020
- 3 min read
It's hard to believe that two years have passed since my husband Taryn and I got married!
In the past two years, I feel like I am constantly learning new things about myself and my husband. Our marriage isn't perfect and I know we will continue to grow and learn throughout the years but I I thought I'd share a few of the significant lessons from our first two years in honor of our anniversary.
IT'S NO LONGER JUST ME
This one seems pretty obvious but for me it's been a lot easier said than done!
Joining two individual lives together is beautiful but not easy.
There's so many changes that happen. Some are as little as how we prefer to fold the laundry (believe it or not that was a point of tension in our marriage!) to more serious changes like joining families, budgets, and lifestyles. Throughout the process of blending our lives together I have to constantly remind myself that I that we are a team and it's no longer just me.
LEARN TO APPRECIATE YOUR DIFFERENCES
My husband and I are different, and that's okay!
I'm learning to accept our differences instead of trying to change him to be more like me! And I'm not talking about personality differences because I love how that our personalities balance each other out, but I'm talking about the the differences in our thinking, our way of doing things, and our approaches to life.
Often, these differences are the ones that cause tension between us because we fail to see the other's point of view. I'm learning to replace my thinking that there is a"right way" or a "best way" to being honest and open with each other and willing to see each other's point of view.
ALONE TIME IS IMPORTANT
Taryn and I spend a lot of time together and enjoy each other's company, but if quarantine has taught me one thing, it's how important alone time is for a healthy marriage! During the shut down due to COVID-19 we were together in a one bedroom apartment 24/7. This defiantly brought challenges to our relationship and caused me to realize that alone time is needed and healthy in a marriage.
While we love our time together, we've learned to make time for ourselves, our own interest and hobbies and I think it has made our marriage even better!
COMPARISON
If I am being honest, this is a struggle for me. It can be so easy to compare within marriage. What I've done versus what he's done. Who's done more housework, ran more errands or who did more for the other's birthday. But marriage isn't about keeping score or measuring all I've done compared to him. When I fall into that mindset I lose sight of what marriage is all about; sacrifice and love without expecting anything in return.
A STRONG MARRIAGE THRIVES IN CHRIST
A strong Christian marriage is one that is rooted in Christ. When we are growing together and individually in our relationships with God our marriage will grow stronger as well.
Christ is love and becoming more like Christ entails loving more. I love fact that while we strive to be more like our Savior it strengthens our desires to serve, love, and encourage one another!
“To love you as I should, I must worship God as Creator. When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now."
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