A Joyful Marriage - Week 6

By Amy Miller

The joy I found in my marriage this week: the opportunity to take care of my husband as he has had the flu/cold all week!

You might be thinking, “You find taking care of your ill spouse joyful? Not only do you have to do more for them than usual but you have to pick up the slack of things they normally do… I don’t see how that is enjoyable…”

And my answer is that it’s not enjoyable at all! I would rather have my husband feeling his energized normal self because it’s sad to hear those rough coughs and see him be so uncomfortable! The reason I see joy in it is because of two reasons:

  1. I get to do more little things for him to help him feel better, and opportunities like this to serve and care for your spouse bring you closer, if you let it. You can choose to be annoyed because you have a busy week and weren’t planning on doing more things for them. I will admit I have had a few moments in the past where I have thought that for a second. But I’ve learned that part of marriage is being flexible for times like this, because you committed to take care of them in sickness and in health!
  2. When your spouse is out of commission you grow an appreciation for the little things they normally do each week like take out the garbage, get the mail, run errands, etc. Even though you probably already do appreciate those little things, you get a more genuine understanding of teamwork in a relationship. I think sadly, we don’t get the chance to appreciate all the things they do until those things don’t get done for a few days.

Colds are no fun, and the odds of you getting the cold your spouse has, increases just be association haha. But again that’s what we committed to when we got married. And hey, if one of the perks is getting to binge watch some TV shows because that’s all he feels like doing, then I can find joy in that :)

photo cred: Nicholette Photography

If you missed Week 5’s joy, go read it!

Join in on the project by sharing a joy in YOUR marriage! Comment, share, post, or hashtag it with #ajoyfulmarriage and there you go! The best part about participating is that not only have you just thought about your marriage in a positive way and gave some public praise to your spouse, but you’ve also inspired a friend who follows you, to do the same!

Let’s help each other find a more joyful marriage :)