When You’re MARRIED WITH CHILDREN

4.  Don’t use raising your kids as an excuse for neglecting your marriage.

This may sound harsh, but it’s a common path for many married couples with children.  We tell ourselves that our kids need us more than our spouse, so we stop paying attention to and caring for our partner and give all of our best attention to our children.  Yes, our kids do need so much of our best attention, but putting our marriage on the back burner in an effort to meet more of our child’s needs is an unhealthy and unbalanced pursuit.  

We can’t expect our marriage to thrive on autopilot.  We must be intentional with our time and invest in our marriage daily by doing little acts of love for our spouse.  There are days when this will be extremely difficult, but we must choose to do it any way.

We shouldn’t feel guilty about taking time to invest in our marriage while we have kids in our home.  In fact, they benefit too.  They will see the love that their parents have for one another and that a healthy marriage is a priority that is worth the time and effort.  When we choose to invest in our marriage each and every day, we will cultivate a greater love and respect for one another.  There will be more peace and understanding in our home, and we will have the kind of marriage that makes our kids feel more secure.  But, most of all, we won’t just stay together “because of the kids.” We will build a rock-solid marriage that will thrive through the child-rearing years and happily anticipate the empty-nester season hand-in-hand.

Looking for a way for you and your spouse to grow closer than ever this year?  We believe that you can do this in just 7 day.  Join us for the “7 Day Marriage Challenge” by purchasing our “7 Days to a Stronger Marriage,” Husband and Wife Devotionals, by clicking here, and you’ll receive FREE videos to go along with each day.