31 Days to a Fruitful Marriage, Day Five: Being an Intentional Spouse

Do you ever sometimes feel like your marriage is on auto-pilot?

Marriage, after a while, become a business partnership, in which both people are striving to meet certain "quotas" to keep things going. Pick up the kids, drop off the kids, make dinner, get to the soccer game, get sleep, etc. It's just one "check" on the to-do list after another.

How often do we stop and actually think about our spouse and their needs in our day? The answer for all of us, is probably an ashamed "not very often."

It's not just about putting together a last minute date night or doing the dishes so they don't have to. It's actually stopping and thinking about them, then intentionally and purposefully living a life where they are mored than just a last minute "thing" to think about. It's about getting to know them, every year. Getting to know what they are thinking, what their goals are, how they feel about things (both in the family and in the world), and seeing how they stand on issues. It's about doing things that make their lives easier on a daily basis. It's about not letting life and work become more than our spouses.

Being intentional at anything in life takes work and thought. Not just letting life get control of you and direct you is difficult and it takes forethought and effort. As a spiritual leader, it is your job to keep that going. As a wife, it's your job to communicate your needs in that capacity to your husband. As a husband, it's your job to show your wife you love her, appreciate her, and will do things for her that help be happy and healthy.

Think about some ways to be intentional in your relationship with your spouse today.

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