Training

I have the most wonderful husband. He is amazing! He'll help me with anything around the house, loves spoiling me with surprises and makes sure that I have a bath all to myself every couple of days....

However, I'm concerned that others may think that he does all this because I 'trained' him.

Ahem. I dislike this term. It reminds me of how we treat a pet. My man is not a pet!

We took a turning point in our marriage (I believe) in 2007. I was unhappy and not really enjoying all the benefits of marriage. Thanks to Above Rubies and Philosophy of Christian Womanhood (say that ten times fast!), I made a conscious decision to think of my man as how I wanted him to be, not pick on him for all his faults.

I made a point of thanking him and praising his efforts instead of picking on his mistakes. And I literally bit my tongue when we were driving somewhere and let him decide what route we took!

This was one of the HARDEST things I have ever done. Every single time I thought a negative thought about him, I immediately threw the thought out and said a little prayer thanking God for him.....even sometimes through gritted teeth and frustration ("THANK YOU God, that I have a husband to pick up socks for!")

And slowly, a funny thing happened. I couldn't actually remember any of his faults! I could only see all the good things he did.....and I fell in love with him again.

We've still had our ups and downs, but I have to say that instead of our marriage getting colder and more boring, it's getting warmer and definitely more exciting.

I still experience negative thoughts, but it's become second-nature to chuck them out of my head before I even think them!

So, the only 'training' I did was to my toxic, negative thoughts......and the results are definitely worth all the effort!

Comments

  1. Cocoa Jo15 May 2011 at 16:17

    The Journey of Marriage...it certainly does get better the more selfless we become! Loved your post. Looking forward to reading more. xoxoxox

    ReplyDelete

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