I ran across this quote the other day on the Internet and it made me think about some of the marriages I’ve watched go though a serious rocky patch or completely break apart. I can’t picture a serious marriage that began with the two people saying, “meh… I’ll give this a shot and see how it goes”. Most people, when they begin dating, pour a lot of effort into getting to know and showing interest in each other. During this time they put their best foot forward by paying attention to each other, making an effort to show affection towards each other, and making time for one another. As the relationship grows, the work get harder as things become more serious. It seems something goes awry. What was once something we poured all of our effort in becomes routine, second nature, and we stop investing effort into something that was once so important to us. I’m not sure what it is in us that makes us pursue something with such intensity to then neglect it later.
Rust & Restoration
![](http://familygreenhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/image2-300x200.jpg)
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Look at the pictures above and think about them for a second. The truck in the ad was someone’s dream truck and if you asked them as they stared at that picture and dreamed about owning that truck they would likely tell you they never imagined it would eventually turn into the rusted out shell in the other picture. However it got that way because someone stopped caring for it. However, even that rusted out shell can be restored to something that matches or many times surpasses the original just like in the picture below.
![](http://familygreenhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/image3-300x199.jpg)
Caring for Your Marriage
The same concept can be applied to marriage coaching. We invest a great deal of effort to catch that special someone in our life. After we have that special someone, it is time to make a choice. We can coast along and hope for the best or we can make an extra effort to keep our relationship strong and growing even stronger. When things are going well is the perfect time continue building into our relationship so when we experience the inevitable bumps in the road we have a stronger foundation to withstand those trials. Even if you have not invested that time early on, it is never to late to start making changes. Just like the restored car, a damaged relationship can be rebuilt to something that was better than the original. You just have to be willing to put forth the effort. Relationship coaching can help you make those changes by working on many areas of your relationship including:
- Communication
- Conflict
- Differing Temperaments
- Expectations
- And Many Others
The question is, are you ready to begin strengthening your relationship? If you are please contact one of our coaches to learn more. As always, if you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear them and will respond to them.
The post “For better or worse… But never for granted” appeared first on The Family Greenhouse.