The ingredients for a healthy marriage are like those for a wonderful cake or a delicious pie. You must include the right amount added at the right time mixed together with the right blend and baked in the heat of an oven for the right amount of time. As couples work to include the best ingredients for marriage, we are aware that the benefits and ramifications are significant for our churches, communities and country.
Ten ingredients for a healthy marriage
- Communication
- Commitment
- Compassion
- Intimacy
- Respect
- Appreciation
- Partnership
- Acceptance
- Hope
- Love
The foundation and bedrock of a healthy marriage include Communication, Commitment and Compassion. These allow the healthy marriage to grow and flourish within a bowl of understanding, devotion and tenderness. When Intimacy, Respect and Appreciation are included in healthy marriages clear signals can be sent and received that say I want to connect with you, honor you and am grateful for who you are. Partnership, companionship and friendship add a sense of common purpose and destination to a healthy marriage. Adding Hope to this mixture is the ingredient that if included there is perseverance and if missing there is frustration. Finally, as in any recipe, there is one ingredient used in greater quantity than any other. In a healthy marriage that ingredient is Love. When the good of the other person is the goal of both husband and wife, a healthy marriage can be seen baking in the midst of the oven of life.
Written by Benjamin F. Myers, MA, LPC
At CounselingWorks, we believe that the best way to help families is to keep them together. Our Christian counselors know the ingredients of a healthy marriage and how to work with couples to build stronger marriages and families. The result is stronger homes, churches and communities now and in the future as envisioned by God in Scripture.
