Marriage Lessons We Can Learn From Christmas
Marriage Lessons We Can Learn From Christmas
By Bradley
I’m sitting here writing this in the aftermath of Christmas. All the activities are over, the presents, the food, the traditions are all finished. And I am left with a house that is overflowing with gift wrap and tissue paper.
One of my favorite things to do after each Christmas is to sit down and reflect on the season. I find it so easy to move on to the next thing (New Years!), and never stop to reflect on what I experienced and learned during Christmas.
So, each year I find some time on the day after Christmas to simply stop and reflect. Here are a few of the things that popped to mind this year.
1. Next To Jesus, Your Spouse Is The Greatest Gift You’ll Ever Open
In a season that’s all about opening gifts, we can often forget to celebrate one of the greatest gifts we’ve been given, our spouse.
This Christmas, though, I’ve been reminded just how blessed I am to be married to Amanda and have her in my life. She is one of God’s most obvious blessings in my life.
Your spouse is, too. It’s easy for familiarity to get in the way and cause us to take something, like your spouse, for granted. I want to encourage you to reflect on the ways they bring blessings into your life.
Here are just a few that I’ve been focusing on, personally:
- Companionship – We never have to do life alone. Your spouse is a life-long companion that has pledged to go anywhere with you. They are your greatest friend.
- Intimacy – One of the greatest joys in marriage is being completely known and completely loved. The relationship of marriage is the only human relationship where this is possible. Your spouse gives you the opportunity to experience this joy.
- Support – Life gets hard, there is no denying that. During these times your spouse is your support system. They are the shoulder to cry on and the voice that encourages you. In hard times they are the one that fights alongside you and supports you to continue.
2. Busy Seasons Are Tough
This past Christmas season has been, by far, the busiest one Amanda and I have experienced together. Amid all of the festivities and usual hectic things, we announced that we would be planting a church in 2019 and began taking on the workload that creates.
Things are quieting down on the other end of Christmas, and as I reflect back on it, I realize just how tough busy seasons are. In this past season, we found ourselves more concerned with survival than love.
There were various times Amanda and I found ourselves neglecting the things that we knew were important simply because of the demands of our schedule. It was brutal.
This reminded me about just how important margin is to my marriage. Leaving the time, and energy, open to focus on the important things is so needed.
While seasons of busyness are going to happen… they can’t develop into a lifestyle of busyness. In order for us to love each other the way we’re called to, we must have margin and time together.
3. Keeping An Eye On Purpose
One thing that grieves my heart most during the Christmas season is how easy it is to lose the real heart for the season. Instead of remembering the wonderful gift of our savior, we are distracted by all the traditions and things we have to do.
I have nothing against all the festivities, gifts, and traditions of Christmas, as long as they do not detract from the real purpose of the season… To remember Jesus’ birth and sacrifice.
Keeping an eye on this purpose for the season elevates everything around Christmas. It helps me enter into the festivities with thanksgiving and experience the traditions on a deeper level.
The same is true with my marriage. The day-to-day “stuff” can just as easily distract me from the whole purpose of my marriage. You see, we aren’t married simply to be married, but for a specific purpose.
Marriage is to be a representation of God’s love for us and to spread The Gospel.
Keeping an eye on this purpose and living from it elevates everything else in marriage. You are no longer going through routines simply to love your spouse well. You are doing it because by loving your spouse well, you are becoming a better representation of Christ’s love and spreading His gospel.
Wrapping Up
This may be a little bit long-winded, but I hope that it encourages you. The Christmas time is a wonderful season to sit back and reflect.
These lessons have helped Amanda and I take steps closer together and I hope they do the same for you, too. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
What Are You Reflecting On From This Past Christmas?