Posted on Oct 30, 2014

No Conditions or Prerequisites: Just Acceptance

This is a post I wrote for Encourage Your Spouse. Be sure to click to read the rest of it.

The sun comes up every morning. Babies cry when they’re hungry. It’s just the way God made things.

But when it comes to our relationships with our spouse – our willingness to accept things the way they are quickly disappears.

Consider these common spousal complaints:

Why do I feel like I have to ask for a hug to get one?
Why do I always have to bug my wife to put her laundry away?
Why can’t my husband put the toilet seat down when he’s done?
Why does it feel like I always have to beg to go out for dinner?
Why don’t I ever get a gift for my birthday?

If you’ve been married for even a short while, you’ll likely recognize that your spouse has certain traits that kind of irritate you. And yes, maybe those few irritants have reached a point of really annoying you.

You’ve tried. You’ve asked kindly, pleaded, demanded, and even threatened, “encouraging” your spouse to change. And maybe you saw a change for a short time, (because your spouse really has a good heart) before they reverted back to old habits.

What are you supposed to do?