Seasons Repeat

I cannot believe it is already Spring tomorrow!  It felt like it was just Christmas. Spring is my favorite season, since I was born in Spring, and I absolutely hate the cold. During this time, I am intentional about the time I spend outside and the enjoyment of the warmth, because I know that winter will be back again in a few months.

You have been with me during my first year of marriage and beyond as I’ve learned to be a good wife to my husband and to honor God in doing so. Since God has allowed me to gain so much insight and wisdom early on in my marriage, it is tempting for me to say that I’m an expert in marriage (if you laughed out loud, I know you thought that about yourself too!). But as I’m beginning to see, just as Christmas comes every year, marriage consists of unique seasons that cycle between a husband and wife multiple times throughout their lives.

Thanks be to God, newlyweds and seasoned couples alike have benefited from my blog posts.  These couples go through similar seasons and need similar advice. While newlyweds may be learning how to communicate and how to become one for the first time, seasoned couples need refreshers on the basic things they’ve learned through multiple counseling sessions, marriage retreats, and days of living together.

We’ve only been married for one year, four months, and two weeks (but who’s counting?), but we can already see that we need refreshers. Even though we’ve acquired so many tools for our marriage, we have to juggle these tools in the real world. Between having jobs, seeing family, and completing household chores, it is easy for these tools to get lost in the sauce. That’s why we have to intentionally make time for our marriage and continue to build on the foundation we formed in the beginning.

In each season, there are aspects of our marriage that are great and aspects that are not so great. In our current season, we have found it easier to communicate and open up to each other, but we haven’t been spending as much consistent time together as we used to when we were in our first months of marriage. Seasoned couples still need to make time for their spouses. “Expert” couples still need to practice their spouses’ love languages. Couples in each season of their lives still need to know how to have healthy conflict and how to check in with each other. It is helpful to do an evaluation every week or so to see what is working for your marriage and where you need improvement.

There are difficult seasons and there are smooth seasons; there are busy seasons and there are boring seasons. However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have overcome a step in your marriage, for there is always room for improvement.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash