Keys To A Happy Marriage Part 6: Apology Accepted
The Power Of “Sorry”
Often times, for any number of reasons, husbands and wives are unkind to each other.
Whether it is work related stress, money problems, lack of rest due to parenting responsibilities, patience wears thin and they snap at each other.
It is so hard to make marriage work today, and having a happy marriage seems even more difficult if not impossible altogether.
But one of the things can help greatly, is saying, “Honey, I’m sorry.”
Romance | Love | Divorce
Remember when you and your spouse were dating? Remember when you were “sweethearts?”
Back in the day when one of you hurt the other, you were quick to say, “I’m so sorry.”
There were notes, cards, flowers, chocolates, perhaps a special date, all things you did to send the message of how much you loved each other and would never, ever do anything to hurt the other.
Those practices were kept alive early in your marriage, too.
But what happened?
How does a relationship progress from sweethearts, to newlyweds to “I can’t stand the sight of your face anymore and I want you out of my life!”
There are many reasons. One of them is allowing yourself to think more of yourself and less of your spouse. This is called selfishness, or even simply taking each other for granted.
The Downside Of Marriage
After we’ve been married for a while, we become very familiar with our spouse, which is the natural order of things.
But the downside of this outcome is that we stop treating each other as special people, as lovers, as soul mates. We start interacting with each other almost like we would any other person or family member.
When this happens, we’re not as quick to say, “I’m sorry” because we’re too busy defending and protecting our egos, something that was of much less importance when we were newlyweds.
Common courtesies are forgotten; we’re impolite or not as polite; we take each other for granted.
The Importance Of Sorry
Having the humility to say, “I’m sorry” is important to having a happy marriage because it breaks down barriers and nurtures a heart to be tender and caring.
If a husband and wife have been married for years without saying “I’m sorry” to each other, then they have isolated or distanced themselves on some level from each other emotionally, spiritually or physically.
A relationship in which the words “I’m sorry” are never uttered is an unhealthy relationship.
What Saying “I’m Sorry” Means
When you tell your spouse that you are sorry, you are communicating that you care deeply about them and regret hurting their heart. It shows that you don’t just care about yourself.
Saying “I’m sorry” eases their pain.
But here’s the thing. Saying it without meaning it only makes things worse and belittles your spouse.
When a person is truly sorry, his or her actions will demonstrate that their words are genuine. When you say you’re sorry, do something special for your spouse like you did when you were dating or were newlyweds – open your heart and express your love in some special way.
Saying your sorry won’t magically “fix” your marriage but it goes a long way in creating and sustaining marital happiness.