Making Marriage Last

I’ve been married about two weeks now, and I figured I would do a post highlighting the already important aspects I’ve learned about marriage, my wife, and our relationship. Believe me, I am no expert but I think these three points will definitely have an impact on your life. 

 

Three Things I’ve Learned In Marriage: 

1. I don’t know everything. 
- Yup, shocker. As much as I want to believe I can conquer all things on my own, that’s just really not the case at all. Let’s be honest… I may like to think I am incredibly smart, but the reality is that I don’t know everything. In fact, nobody knows everything. My wife is incredible, has a keen sense of what’s right or wrong, and definitely has better taste in movies than I do.
She brings a new perspective, and one that is different from the way I’ve lived. Why? Because she’s a different person than me. The truth is: When going into any relationship, one must learn to sometimes put down their personal preferences and come into a joint state of thinking in the topic of decision-making. A marriage cannot last on one heart/brain alone. 

2. It’s no longer about me. 
- Being single gives you many freedoms to do a lot of “you type” things. Well, when you are married that all begins to change overnight. You can no longer just go where “you” please, buy what “you” want, or do what “you” want. You have to realize that your decisions now impact more than just you, and in order for any marriage to work, you need to be able to come together as a team when it comes time for decision-making.
Don’t believe me? Try spending $300.00 without letting your husband or wife know, and let me know how that goes (Don’t actually do that). My point is: life is not about “you” anymore. The second you said “I do” is the second you accepted the responsibility of another life into your own.  

3. Love and Respect are Key. 
- Other than being founded on God, I believe love and respect are two key fundamental values for any marriage that is looking to last longer than The Honeymoon. While men seek to be respected, a woman seeks be loved and cherished. The idea is NOT to withhold one value if the other party is not doing a very good job at holding up to their side of the bargain, but instead keeping afloat an open dialogue that gives freedom to discuss how each other are feeling in terms of their LOVE and RESPECT fuel tanks. 
My wife and I have started this early, and we have an open dialogue that gives us the freedoms to express if we are not feeling loved or respected by the other person. A lot of times it’s due to the simple concept of miscommunication, but it’s better for us to keep the discussion open than wrongly assume each others motives. 


Scripture:
Ephesians 5:22 - For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:25 - For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.
Book Recommendations: 
1. Love & Respect 
2. Beyond Ordinary

- Jarrid Wilson

taken from: http://jarridwilson.com/making-marriage-last/