Marriage is a partnership. Decisions need to be made jointly, which requires communication. When a marriage gets to the place where he or she does things behind the back of the other because they don’t want the conflict, that creates even greater conflict just around the corner. The value of God’s plan for opposites attracted to opposites is that sense of perspective we both need. So, we need to respectfully talk through our varying perspectives, learn from each other and find some common ground. You’re both in this together.

Every marriage that doesn’t work on this communication effort will grow further apart. It doesn’t take long to discover you’ve wandered in different directions because you didn’t work on walking together in the same direction. That’s true the first year of marriage, the first decade of marriage, and the golden years of marriage. It always takes work, sacrifice, and time.

Two bank accounts work against that. Separate vacations work against that. Separate bedrooms work against that. People will forgive your failures, but they won’t forgive the failure of your marriage. Make a common decision to make your marriage thrive!