One common tension point in marriage is the feeling, “My spouse is draining the emotional life out of me.” This sense of being depleted by your mate is particularly strong when they are going through a period of depression. With little life or energy to spare, the depressed mate focuses all their remaining attention on [...]
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked about marriage is, “When is it time to give up?”
The person asking me will often go on to say, “I’ve been trying for years to hold on to this marriage. I’ve prayed and hoped and worked but nothing has changed. When is enough, enough?”
There’s always a great [...]
Problem: I keep wrestling with the thought I married the wrong person. How can I know for sure the person I married was God’s will for me?
He was ninety-three years old. Still somewhat spry and very slert, he pointed across the living room to his wife of more than sixty years. "There she is, my sweetheart," he said. "We're still on our honeymoon. She's the most wonderful wife a man could ever have." His wife blushed for a moment, but didn't argue.
In all our years of counseling troubled couples, we've yet to hear a wife turn to us and say, "I can't stand it any longer. Tell him to stop giving me so many compliments or I'm going to leave him." As you might guess, we've heard just the opposite complaine - a lack of compliments - more times than we can count.
Why is it that women have such a deep need for verbal compliments? For much the same reason men crave respect and admiration. It's simply the way God designed us. Time doesn't dim the need of a wife to hear beautiful words from her husband. The important thing is that we be sincere, loving, and consistent. Begin today with a small, simple compliment. Tell her another tomorrow morning, the next day, and the next. It will soon become a habit - one your wife will never ask you to kick.
Today's Marriage Minute comes entirely from the book Marriage Minutes by Dr. Bob and Cheryl Moeller. Published by Moody Press, copyright 1998. Used by permission.
