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Thursday, May 24, 2012
5:05 PM | Posted by
Scott
My wife and I
had the pleasure of leading a marriage small group in our church for the past 13
weeks. As small groups were forming in January I recruited purposefully among
some of the many newly married couples in our church. I was a little surprised but very thankful
that several of them decided to sign on.
As we prayed
over each couple during our wrap up session this past Sunday night, I was
struck by a genuine sense of the Lord’s delight in these couples, newly married
or not, for choosing to invest time and
effort in their marriages. For each
of them, being part of our group meant giving up every Sunday evening for
almost four months, reading through 10-15 pages of written materials and doing some
exercises, either jointly or separately. It was a significant commitment – a significant
investment.
Compound Interest
I am no
expert on stocks and finance, but I do know about compound interest. The basic principle is that if you invest
early and invest consistently there is a tremendous multiplication effect over
time. For example, if you were to invest a single dollar every day for 20 years
at a modest 3% interest rate, at the end of that time you would have over
$10,000.
The principle
of a compounded return holds true for marriage as well. Invest
early! invest often! Reap the rewards!
It’s never
too early (or too late) to invest in your marriage. Whether you are newly
married or approaching 30 years, as me and my wife are, giving time and attention
to your marriage always pays off in rich rewards over time. Consistent time and
attention to your marriage is the best way to reap the long-term reward of a
strong, healthy, satisfying and enduring relationship.
Dividends
Another
financial concept that relates to investing in your marriage is “dividends.”
Simplistically, dividends are simply a payout to investors as a way of
short-term rewards.
In addition
to the long-term, compounding benefits of consistently investing in your
marriage, there are definite short-term “payoffs” as well. Investing in things
like date nights, frequent sexual encounters, romantic gestures and selfless
giving will pay back with such dividends as intimacy, passion and a sense of
well-being.
So how are you investing
in your marriage? Do you have some other suggestions for our readers? Let us know with a comment below!
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6 comments:
My husband and I have found that another "investment" that has paid "dividends" is
setting aside a time that is just ours together - every day.
In our case it is every morning - but it could be any time that "works".
We have our alarm clock set to a time 45 minutes before we need to get up.
It is our time, just to be with each other.
We hold each other. Sometimes more.
We talk.
We pray.
Sometimes we sleep if we still need it, but it is more likely in each others arms.
I say it again: it is our time, just to be together.
And we protect our time.
Otherwise, so much of married life is really just "in passing"...
I love how you said that it's never too early or too late to start investing in your marriage. A lot of couples take their partners for granted and tend to not do anything to show them how much they are appreciated or loved. I think that taking time and really setting some aside to spend with each other, no matter what activity it is that you do, will do wonders for your relationship and your bond as a couple.
Thanks Nancy! I love the way you are so deliberate about your couple time! I'm not a morning person (major understatement!), so that would probably not be helpful to our marriage. That's for your comment!
Jan, yes, so many couples give up trying and stop investing in their relationship. It's important to never settle for a "good enough" marriage, but to always seek more.
It is also important to take little steps in investing in your marriage. My husband and I were talking about that recently. For us we are going to be taking a few minutes each day when we come home from work to talk. It is all that we can do right now, but as with all good investments it can grow.
Hi Sharlene. You are so right. Sometimes being consistent in little things is more helpful than inconsistently doing big things. Congratulation for doing what you can when you can for your marriage.
After reading your blog I have realized how much me and my husband we haven't investing in our marriage because he is always busy,but what I like is that you said its never to let to start investing and I am looking forward to this investment through God's help. Thanks for this blog may God bless you as you continue to help us save our marriages.
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