Monday, March 21, 2011

Monday Matrimony

And now for your weekly bit of [unsolicited] advice...

Tip of the Week: Conquer negativity with GRATITUDE

I believe this is a principle that can be applied to all of life, but let's think about it specifically in the context of marriage today.

A few years ago our family was going through a stressful time with a lot of transitions. We had just sold our house in Texas and were living with a friend for a few weeks before leaving Texas. During that time period, we had everything we were going to live on for the next 4 months (that's 1/3 of a year, People!) packed in our four door sedan. Andy preached his final sermon at our church with some heart wrenching goodbyes, he graduated from seminary, and we were launching into a summer of full-time support raising for South Bay Church. It was a lot to process.

I remember feeling a ton of different emotions during this time...some of them being quite negative and often expressing themselves through frustration with Andy. To combat this, I decided that I would write Andy a brief note each day for a month to tell him something that I appreciate about him. I can't remember if I made it a full month or not, but I do know that it helped my attitude and it encouraged him a lot in the process.

That idea might sound overwhelming to you. Who has the time to write someone a letter for 30 straight days? Don't think letter. Think note. Like index card sized. And think only 2 or 3 sentences. All you have to do is think of one attribute that you appreciate or admire in your spouse, jot it down, and give it to him.

You might choose to do it for one day or one month. But whatever you choose, choose GRATITUDE instead of choosing NEGATIVITY. It really is our choice what we focus on.

2 comments:

Brooke said...

It has been a tough couple if days and I was feeling down this morning. Thank you for the reminder of that which is important and for the encouragement.:-)

Mommy Lim said...

definitely will cling to this during the week!