Be A Grower

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

—Galatians 5:22–23

One way to build a stronger marriage is to take responsibility for your own emotional and spiritual health. Be a grower, a person committed to health and wholeness in every part of your own life.

In Mark 10 Jesus describes marriage this way: “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one.” That’s the definition of marriage—two becoming one. But a friend of mine says this: “Two can never really become one if they weren’t two to begin with.” She’s talking about wholeness, about spiritual and emotional health. The number one thing that you can to do build your marriage is take responsibility for your own spiritual and emotional health.

A mentor of ours says a marriage can only ever be as healthy as the least healthy person in the marriage. If addiction or apathy or unhealed pain from your past is ruling your life, your marriage has no chance to be healthy. Pursue personal wholeness, whatever it takes.