You’ve probably heard many times that married life is all about compromise. But, what happens when there’s no easy compromise or when there’s no possible win-win?

Sometimes, situations arise in marriage where spouses differ over a fundamental issue for which there’s no easy compromise. For instance, if your partner wants more kids and you don’t, there’s no easy solution. Similarly, if your partner wants you to give up your faith and you don’t want to, it’s very hard to come up with a win-win scenario. Below are some tips to help you handle such situations.

Pray About It

Prayer is a very important part of married life for Christian couples. It’s God who gives wisdom and discernment and helps people make good decisions.

So whenever you find yourself in a tough situation, pray that God renews your mind and helps you to perceive and consider all options. Also, pray that God gives you clarity of thought so that you can make the right decision.

Look Beyond the Current Issue

Most of the time when a couple gets stuck on an issue and is unable to find a suitable compromise, it’s because they are focusing on the problem instead of looking at the big picture. However, the only way to find a suitable solution is to look past the current issue and instead consider the end goal. A little bit of communication in marriage can help you and your spouse figure out that you agree a lot more on the end goal than on the current situation.

For instance, a couple may disagree on whether or not to have more kids but agree on the fact that they both want a happy and healthy family. Focusing on that can help them decide the number of kids that will make that goal achievable.

Compromising makes married life hard but you can make it a little easier by choosing to focus on the bigger picture and praying to God to give you wisdom and clarity.