Can you remember some of the wedding advice you got once you announced your engagement? Here are some of the gems of wisdom I can 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 the almost 50 years we’ve been together. We’re best friends and love each other more today than we did on our wedding day. That’s because there’s 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. You know, identifying and acknowledging these good qualities about each other is vital to cherishing your beloved.
First, focus more on your spouse’s strengths than weaknesses.
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 2 minutes write down between 5 and 10 things that you love and are thankful for about your spouse. Next, take two more minutes and think of 5 to 10 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 one another? Use this little project to help demonstrate how you can cherish each other.
Give yourself the opportunity and privilege of proactively becoming thankful for and serving each other. Enjoy cherishing your spouse and celebrate being cherished by your beloved. The secret of a happy marriage is to cherish your beloved every day.
