It is our privilege to provide guidance to couples before they get married. We really enjoy seeing young love bloom. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they would do anything to be together. Even if it means one driving through the night to spend 24 hours with the other one.

They enjoy being together and have loads to talk about. They chat and laugh until late at night. The fact that they’re different acts like a magnet and they simply can’t get enough of one another.

As the years of marriage go by, the magnet loses its power and before long the couple is sitting before us again. Wide apart. Tired of each other. Tired of being married. Tired of the other one being different, which has now become the reason why they no longer have the courage or desire to continue.

Relationships aren’t easy. They don’t run on auto control. We have to work on our relationships. All our relationships. Relationships between parents and children. Relationships between friends, even those at work and business relationships. You have to put in the energy to make a relationship work well.

Here is excellent advice: ¹⁵Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Things buried alive, stay alive. This is one of the first truths that we communicate to couples. If you incorporate this truth in your foundation and find a method to prevent this happening in your relationships with those you love, you’ve made excellent progress.

We always make excuses not to talk about it. We say we’ll talk about it later, and then we forget. And one day one says something that causes a major storm. An the first one doesn’t understand why. Is it really necessary to explode like this? It wasn’t that bad?

You see, it’s because of all those little unsolved issues that got buried before. They lay there moldering and expanding. Now they’ve grown into a mountain too high to climb.

If the problem had been addressed immediately, it would not have gotten so big and unmanageable.

We have to intentionally make this truth part of our relationships. If something bothers you, address it immediately. If something hurts you or makes you angry, get rid of the cause. If you don’t do that, the weeds will grow and poison everything.

I want to encourage you not to delay making this part of your relationship, but to address it regularly. Believe that the Holy Spirit will help you do this, and will make your relationship light and joyful again, like it was in the beginning.

Scripture
Hebrews 12:14-17

Reflection
What bothers you in your relationship?
How can you discuss it with the other person?
When?

Prayer
Father, thank you for this practical advice. It makes sense that things that are not resolved will grow bigger and bigger, and eventually become too huge to handle. Please help me take the bull by the horns and address it as soon as possible. In Jesus’ Name, amen.