In order for plants to grow, you have to water them, give them plenty of sunshine, and the right soil. We all know that if we stop doing any of those things the plant will not be healthy or have what it needs to grow to maturity and/or bear fruit. I (Amy) am known to be a plant killer. I know, it sounds terrible, but for some reason I tend to neglect the plant or fail to remember to give it what it needs to survive. My husband is convinced that when plants see me coming they want to run and hide. I may not be the best with plants, but I've learned a few things about growing a healthy marriage. Soon after we were first married, Dave and I attended our first marriage seminar, read our first marriage book, and perused our first marriage magazine article. Not only did this strengthen our marriage, but we gained valuable insight and encouragement to make changes to strengthen our relationship.
Fast forward to now, and we are still reading marriage books, attending marriage seminars and gleaning from blogs & articles. Why, because we determined to never stop growing in our marriage, and better yet, put into practice what we had learned from all the wisdom available to us. Once we were talking to a couple who had been married for a few years. We asked them if they were attending an upcoming marriage seminar and they said with a complacent attitude, "No, we've already heard it all." Dave and I never want to have this attitude - we always want to be learning and stretching and improving our marriage. Complacency kills growth & fruitfulness.
Truth to Ponder: Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head. - Ephesians 4:15
Discuss Together: "The tragedy of life is not often in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but in our doing too little. Not failure but low aim in sin..." Benjamin E. Mays. Discuss what this means and how it can apply to your marriage. Do you tend to have a learning posture or a "know it all" attitude in your relationship? What can you do to change that this year?
Try This: As this new year begins, make it a goal to attend one marriage seminar this year, and read one marriage book together. Try to do the Ten Minute Tune Up each week for four weeks to grow in your relationship.
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