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I once heard of a couple in a deeply troubled marriage, one that had reached a crisis point. Divorce loomed. When it came to fixing the relationship, they didn\u2019t even know where to start. That\u2019s when the wife had a revelation. She realized it was time to do something drastic.<\/p>\n
She asked her husband to take her hunting.<\/p>\n
It was his favorite activity, and though she had never shown any interest in it, she was committed to doing whatever it took to heal their strained marriage.<\/p>\n
The husband was shocked. In fact, he was so surprised he laughed when she told him. But he couldn\u2019t think of a good reason to tell her no. Reluctantly, he took her along on a hunting trip the next weekend.<\/p>\n
That trip saved their marriage. She\u2019d never had any desire to hunt, but soon learned to enjoy it. The shared interest led to them doing other things together. They became friends again, and it restored their relationship.<\/p>\n
Friendship: it\u2019s where almost all marriage relationships begin, and it\u2019s the glue that keeps your marriage from getting stale. Women tend to bond through meaningful conversation. Men bond through having fun together.<\/p>\n
A healthy marriage includes both of those elements\u2014open, honest conversation and the enjoyment of shared interests.<\/p>\n
Think about how men become buddies with each other. It\u2019s not by having long, intimate discussions, but by doing stuff. They golf or ski. They play football, go camping, or fish and hunt. Men bond through recreation.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s also how they long to connect with their wives. Numerous surveys indicate that men in happy marriages are far more likely to identify their wives as their \u201cbest friends. That\u2019s the greatest compliment a man can give.<\/p>\n
To put it bluntly, men are interested in fun and sex. Remove those things from a marriage\u2014like in the example of the couple above\u2014and you\u2019re left with something closer to a living arrangement than a vibrant, healthy relationship.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many men find it difficult to grow close to another person\u2026until recreation is involved. That\u2019s when men become more open and vulnerable, sharing their hearts and talking about things they might otherwise keep to themselves.<\/p>\n
Like soldiers in a foxhole, shared experiences around a campfire, on a golf course, or in a deer blind help build a sense of oneness between men and their recreational companions. It connects them.<\/p>\n
Many wives don\u2019t understand this dynamic. He has his hobbies and I have mine,<\/em> they think, showing no interest in the things their husbands love. Men see this as a wife with no interest in drawing close to them.<\/p>\n Women, when you tell a man \u201cI\u2019m not interested in the things you do,\u201d he hears this: \u201cI\u2019m not interested in you.\u201d Accurate or not, that\u2019s a dangerous message to send.<\/p>\n Husbands and wives who have fun together\u2014traveling, sharing hobbies and activities, laughing and playing together\u2014create a bond that\u2019s not easily broken. A wife who becomes her husband\u2019s friend will go a long way toward keeping him satisfied.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I once heard of a couple in a deeply troubled marriage, one that had reached a crisis point. Divorce loomed. When it came to fixing the relationship, they didn\u2019t even know where to start. That\u2019s when the wife had a revelation. She realized it was time to do something drastic. She asked her husband to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3551,"featured_media":2854,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifelong-love-affair"],"yoast_head":"\n