Marriage: Love Is Not Enough!

It is true that we have different strokes for different folks. To many people marriage is all about love and loving each other; and that’s all that counts. But there are a lot of married couples who would disagree with that, saying that love won't be able to pay the bills, nor will it feed hungry mouths.

However, when it comes to marriage relationships, love is always in the centre. But, love is not the only thing that keeps couples together.  It requires much more to keep a relationship healthy and flourishing.

Here are a few qualities partners should seek to maintain::

1.         Always trust each other

This means having faith in your partner's loyalty even if you know he's surrounded by a lot of temptations.  This is, believing that your partner loves you enough not to cheat on you. 

It is normal to feel jealous; however, it is how a person reacts to that emotion that will count. Acting on impulse because of jealousy will only bring you down and will not be healthy for your relationship.

2.         Always respect for each other

Your significant other should be able to give you the same respect he/she expects from you. This is respect for your individuality, for your unique personality – your sense of humor or the weird way you laugh.

This also entails a sense of respect for your decisions. Accepting your decisions and understanding it. Simply put, mutual respect in a relationship means that you value each other’s differences and understand, not try to change the other person’s personality.

3.         Be fair to each other always

Relationships are never one-way street.  It should always be give and take. This may be something as simple as choosing a location, or a movie to watch. This means establishing mutual consent on whatever the couple wants to do, instead of making the decision making process a battle to be won.

4.         Always communicate. Be open

Be free to express how you feel openly and honestly to your partner without fear of being ridiculed or misinterpreted. Having the initiative to speak what’s on your mind shows your partner that you are comfortable enough to open up to him/her. 

This is, of course, provided you’ve given it enough thought to know that what you say will be taken in a good, constructive way.

5.         Have a sense of honesty

This goes together with trust as trust is based on how honest and faithful your partner is to you. The problem lies in how a person can trust his partner if that partner can’t be honest with him/her.

6.         Be a partner or help-mate

This simply means offering your support to your partner when they're down or problematic.  They also need your support during times of happiness and triumph. 

It's nice to know that someone's with you when you're in the mud. But it's also nice to have someone to share your sweet success with.

7.         Remember you have separate Identities

Though you are one as a couple, there will be compromising situations where there is a difference in interest. This doesn’t have to end up with one losing his identity just to give way to the other person. Both partners should still be able to maintain time for their own interest like when they started with the relationship.

Marriage is sweeter when we strive to keep it healthy and happy, and do our best to make it flourish.