Work for man-kind began even before the fall - God created man and woman to rule over the animals and take care of the garden. The fall brought the curse and work became difficult; not only for the basics, such as feeding themselves and bearing children, but also in their relationships. Before the fall, man didn’t have to worry about food, after the fall - it became arduous work to gather food. Before the fall, relationships were easy - both with God and each other; after the fall, relationships became difficult and required work.
As much as couples hate to hear it, every marriage requires work. There are things husbands and wives have to do to build healthy relationships. Naturally, without work or effort, a marriage will fall apart. It could be a law of the universe; ‘healthy, vibrant, mutually edifying relationships, require work.’ Of the couples who come to us for counseling; those who do the work, change, grow, and see their relationship become strong and healthy. We usually see failure of the marriage when a couple doesn’t do the work.
You must be willing to talk and work through problems you experience. You have to learn and use healthy communication principles to strengthen your marriage. You have to develop healthy boundaries and implement them into your life and marriage. You must be willing and then put the effort into connecting with your spouse and growing together. Is it difficult? At first, but it gets easier as you continue to give of yourself and seek to build relationship. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it also does not take a long time to begin seeing change and growth.
Great achievements aren’t always accomplished by the person with the most talent, ability, education, or money. Great achievements are accomplished by those who do not give up and are willing to change and make things work one way or another. Do you want a better marriage? A successful marriage? An incredible marriage beneficial to both you and your spouse? Work at it! Put the effort into developing the skills and abilities needed for a healthy marriage - it is something you have to do!
