Posted on Feb 20, 2014

25 Ways To Enhance Your Marriage With Your Gift Of Dexterity

Some people have a gift. They are good with their hands.

Maybe you have this gift too.

Do any of the following resonate with you?

You love to make things, like shaping pottery or crocheting a blanket or even painting.
You have a knack with fixing things, like broken lamps or computers or even cars.
You have the perfect hands to remove all stress or pain in someone’s stiff shoulders or sore back.

In a marriage, these are often viewed as pure gold by the lucky spouse. It’s the wonderful gift of dexterity. It’s also a value that can be cultivated.

As a differentiating value, Dexterity means adroitness (or adeptness) in using the hands; or skill in performing tasks.

To enhance your marriage with this value, all you need to do is find the areas in which your gift of dexterity can benefit your spouse.

25 Ways to Use Your Gift of Dexterity

Consider in which of the following areas you have a natural gift. Remember, in order to enhance your relationship with your souse, it’s not about which ones you enjoy the most. It’s about finding those that have the greatest benefit to your spouse.

Cooking ideas:

Try a new recipe (your choice) where everything is placed on each dinner plate the way it’s done in a fancy restaurant (and also make it a romantic evening with dinner by candlelight).
Bake a pie with a crust made from scratch (homemade always tastes better because it’s made with love).
Serve breakfast in bed to your spouse with fresh-squeezed orange juice and their favorite breakfast treats, made from scratch.
Make some homemade ice cream, and be sure to choose a fun new flavor.
Hand feed your spouse grapes or strawberries or small slices of apple (actually, cutting up food and hand feeding your spouse is a wonderful treat anytime).

Cleaning ideas:

Wash out all the trash cans in your home (and remember to clean the outsides too).
Thoroughly wash and clean the inside of the refrigerator (make it like it’s brand new again).
Pull out the stove and thoroughly clean the outside, the inside, and even the floor underneath it.
Clean all the windows in your home, inside and out (and remember to clean the window sills too).
Vacuum the inside of your spouse’s vehicle and clean off all the smudges (make it feel like new!).

Fix & repair ideas:

Repair a chipped or broken ornament or decoration waiting to be fixed (especially if it’s important to your spouse).
Replace all burned out light bulbs, especially on the outside of your home (double points if you need to use a ladder).
Replace or repair all non-working items in your spouse’s vehicle (e.g. light bulbs, door handles, radio knobs, etc.).
Fix or repair damaged pictures and rehang in your home (better yet, work with your spouse to rearrange all the pictures in your home).
Look through your closets or storage unit for broken items you haven’t used in at least a year and fix or repair it, then offer to sell it on eBay (use the money you make to do something fun with your spouse).

Creating or Building (or rebuilding) ideas:

Make new curtains for a room in your home that is used the least (then discuss fun ideas of what you could do with that room).
Build a bird feeder and hang it outside your kitchen window (remember to fill it with birdseed).
Create space for a garden (it doesn’t have to be huge) and plant some vegetables and/or flowers.
Refinish an old piece of furniture (either your own or buy one).
Find a place where you can have a bonfire (maybe work a deal with a local farmer outside city limits), find appropriate wood and build a big bonfire. You can even invite a few friends along to enjoy it with you.

Personal massage ideas:

Give your spouse a 20-minute back rub (lying down), over their entire back, allowing them to thoroughly relax (and enjoy your company).
Gently massage the calf muscles of your spouse (helps prevent muscle spams).
Gently rub your spouse’s feet (one at a time) and remember to massage their ankles too. If you’re not sure if something is helpful, ask. Your spouse will gladly tell you.
Give your spouse a gentle scalp massage (remember to massage the temples too).
Massage your spouse’s hands and forearms (it’s also a wonderful form of touching hands together).

As an extension of this last point, don’t miss the most obvious one of simply holding hands. To learn more, I encourage you to read a post Lori wrote on 5 Ways to Hold Hands (posted on Happy Wives Club).