Can you remember some of the wedding advice you got once you announced your engagement? Here are some of the “gems of wisdom” I recall: be sure to treat her like a queen … weird in-laws just get weirder … and my all time favorite … The secret of a happy marriage … is still a secret …
Karen and I have a marriage that has grown from good to great over our 40 years together. We are best friends and love each other more today than we did on our wedding day. That’s because there is a lot more we have come to learn and love about each other.
We also know, by experience, that neither one of us is perfect. We have grown in our commitment to focus on each other’s good qualities, which I hope outweigh our negative ones.
Identifying and acknowledging these good qualities about each other are a vital part of cherishing your beloved. First, focus more on your spouse’s strengths than weakness. Second, serve your life mate by being willing to give more than you expect to get back. And … third, reflect on how thankful you are for being blessed by having your beloved in your life.
Since the word cherish is a verb … it requires some action! So, take out a piece of paper right now; and in two minutes write down between five and ten things about your spouse that you are thankful for.
Next, take two more minutes and think of five to ten special things that you can do over the next week for your beloved that will make his or her life easier and demonstrate your cherishing love!?
Finally, follow through with your to do list.
Keep a journal of how doing these love projects made you feel towards your spouse? How did doing these things make you feel about yourself? What impact did this activity have on your children as they noticed you performing these acts of kindness towards each other?
Use this little project to help demonstrate how you cherish each other!
