8 Steps to a Successful Marriage

Anyone who is married will tell you how hard marriage is. Yes, you may love your spouse with every ounce you have, but it takes more than love. It takes hard work and dedication.

Like many young women when they get married, I had this fantasy of how married life was going to be. I was even considering having Steven Speilberg document it because it was bound to be amazing. Boy, did I have my head in the clouds!

My first year of marriage was nothing glorious. It was horrible. Casey and I wanted to kill each other and Lord knows how many times we brought up divorce. It doesn't help that I only worked part time at American Eagle, not enough to cover groceries. Casey's job was so wishy washy. We were living in a construction zone.

We did not have counters for cooking, a kitchen sink for washing dishes, or a bathroom sink for washing. We had a chair and a tv with a bathtub and a crockpot. Excuse me for being pissy!
We had to wash dishes in the bathtub. Gross! and it killed our backs!

Steps to a Successful Marriage:

1. Christ! There is no way our marriage would make it without him. He brought us together and He will keep us together. End of story!

2.  Prayer and lots of it! There were days that I had to pray for the Lord to help me not be in a bad mood. There were days that I had to pray to be patient with my husband. I am not a patient soul.

3. Understanding. Try to put yourself in his work boots or her stilettos. It will always give you a better perspective.

4. Communication.  Watch what you say and how you say it. The tone of your voice and your attitude say way more than the words you speak. Always make sure you both understand what the final verdict on a topic is and that you both are good with it.

5. Honesty. This is a big one. DO NOT LIE! EVER! Now obviously your not going to tell them your planning a surprise party if they ask you. But if you know you did or said something that would upset them, don't lie and say you didn't. Be honest and apologize. Or explain the incident without getting upset.

6. Trust.  If you don't have trust, you are going to drive yourself crazy with worry and what ifs. You either have trust, I don't give a F anymore, or a combination of both. Its like "I don't give a F because I trust you." You definitely don't want the second!

7. Friendship. You ought to be each others best friend. You should be able to tell them all your dark secrets. If you have another best friend like your girlfriend who you spill your guts too, it should be spilled to your spouse first.

8. Love. I know I put this one last and this is where all the rest stem from. But you truly have to love your spouse for what they are and what they aren't. Its hard to love someone these days because we have been brainwashed by Hollywood about what the perfect man is. Not everyone can be married to Channing Tatum. But I wouldn't trade my man for the world! He balances me out perfectly and he puts up with a lot of shit for me. He loves me more than anyone, he loves me insight of myself.

Love isn't easy, ever! Well maybe the first 2 weeks, but after that its hard! There are some days where I have to consciously choose to love my husband. There are days when he has to do the same thing. You may think that you should always love them no matter what and all that, and yes that is true, BUT even though I love him even when I cant stand him; the last thing I want to say to him when he has me furious is "I love you."

Of course there are so many other things that make marriage great, but this is a pretty good start at the basics.

Hope this helps you and your spouse. =)

My husband loves this quote!! And its so true!



With Love
XOXo