|
Loving our spouse is giving them the freedom to be who it is they are. When
we love without WANTING anything in return, that is when we have accepted our
spouse for being who they are, faults and all.
This of course, doesn’t include iniquitous behavior because if anyone is
carrying on and regularly doing things in err against spouse or God then they
certainly are not being the person they were meant to be. Therefore, this
article does not apply to them.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change!
Love is an option; we select the
degree of love and what kind of love we will give to our spouse through our
actions. Love can sometimes be confusing and misleading, especially if couples
are going through trials and tribulations in their marriage and are demanding
of one another.
We think that if we could change our
spouse, we’ll suddenly be happy and contented with our self. We try and change
our spouse because we have stopped accepting them for who they are. Therefore,
we cannot seem to love them either.
Pretty soon, we begin to place nasty conditions on the love we give to our
spouse. If their faults irritate us bad enough we might not give ANY love at
all. Sound familiar?
With no love left to give to our spouse, we might think we have nothing in
common anymore? Who knows, maybe we begin to think we married the wrong person?
Suppose the person we met last week at work is better than our spouse? Pretty
soon we have brainwashed our self into believing our feelings.
No wonder more than half of all marriages end in divorce!
How about, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change!
Couples waste so much of their time and energy trying to change each other.
But is that really what needs to be done?
Marriage gurus think they have all the answers, and self help books goat and
challenge couples to try and change for each other. But most of these people are divorced too! So what gives?
How a bout a little bit of acceptance! It works wonders.
Really, we just need to try and not let those little things bother us. Even
some of the bigger things we can detach from. Forgive. Turn the other cheek. Do
these things even when you don’t want to! Communicate the issue. Let your
spouse know what bothers you, but don’t make it into a tirade.
Don’t scream and yell at them about how bad they are, instead find something
positive to say about them. Make them feel good about them self. That’s what
works!!
What about, “I’ll scratch your back, if you scratch mine”. This is good in marriage. There is nothing
wrong with the “give and take” type rapport with each other. In fact, this is
essentially how couples love each other.
No one can ever love unconditionally, without demands, bargains or
expectations, ever. You know why? Because we’re just human, we err, and we have
faults. We need to accept that and move
on with our life; hopefully that moving on includes our spouse.
The "give and take" process is a natural occurrence; it is
instinctive to do something nice for our spouse because they have done
something nice for us. We give and take all day long with most of our
interaction in our daily lives; it’s part of life.
Most marriages work in this fashion; it is a good way for marriage to
flourish and grow. It keeps couples on their toes as far as remembering to
“give” of themselves periodically to their spouse EVEN when they don’t want to.
That is love.
Remember, most marriages can be salvaged. We have to stop THINKING we can
change our spouse. We really just need
to try a little bit harder. Trying to let those things go that we can’t do
anything about, and stop feeling resentful can make a big impact on the
marriage.
Allow your spouse the freedom to just BE. Accept your spouse! Love!
Love is created by a person and not just is. Love takes action to
accomplish. The value of the love we give to our spouse is based on how we are
feeling at any given moment and time.
If we feel resentment or bitterness towards those we love, we'll inevitably
love with resentment and bitterness, which is one way we place nasty conditions
on our love.
"What is generated from our heart comes out in our actions".
Loving someone in the real sense of the word is allowing him or her to be
who it is they are. When we learn to play the “give and take” game fairly is
when can accept the person we are married to.
Bottom line, accept your spouse for who they are, give to your spouse
without wanting anything in return, and it will eventually be given back to
you.
This is how to not change your spouse. Acceptance Is LOVE.
Angie Lewis has written three books on how to have a happy marriage. She has just finished her fourth book THE ALCOHOLISM TRAP: Understanding Why You Drink and What You Can Do To Achieve Total Sobriety.
For more information about this book and marriage books, please visit: http://www.heavenministries.com
To see book previews, please visit: http://stores.lulu.com/angielewis
|
